Two brothers arrested in connection with a 2009 attack on a gay youth center are expected to receive more than 1.5 million shekels ($380,000) in damages after it was found they were accused based on fabricated evidence. Hagai and Binyamin Felician were arrested after a masked assailant stormed into the Bar Noar in Tel Aviv on Aug. 1, 2009, and opened fire, killing two people -- 26-year-old Nir Katz and 16-year-old Liz Troubishi -- and wounding 10 others. The murder rattled the nation, and hate-crime and homophobia allegations flew. Four years later, in June 2013, police arrested the two brothers. Hagai Felician was held in custody for nine months on charges of murder and attempted murder, while his brother, then a minor, was quickly released. The police said they had arrested the two based on information provided by their friend Zohar Hankishiev, who later admitted he had misled investigators. Hankishiev, who was tapped as a state's witness, told police he had secret text messages and other data implicating the two. However, it turned out the information he had was unrelated to the case. Police say he manipulated the data to make it seem he had incriminating evidence. The police ultimately dropped all charges. No suspects have yet bee named. The state made a compensation offer following a lengthy mediation process, offering Hagai Felician 1.2 million shekels ($308,000) and his brother 200,000 shekels ($50,000). The state has also offered to pay them an additional 180,000 shekels ($46,000) for legal fees. The brothers' lawyers have yet to respond. They had initially asked for more than 8 million shekels ($ 2 million).
Brothers wrongly accused of 2009 hate crime to be compensated
Following mediation, state offers to pay brothers arrested over double homicide at gay youth center • Evidence turned out to be fabricated by a state's witness, and charges were dropped • Elder brother, held for nine months, offered 1.5 million shekels.
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