Life sentence for aggravated murder conviction

Nasser convicted of aggravated murder, receiving life sentence for meticulously planning and aiding a fatal shooting on Nov 11, 2023. Video evidence crucial.

According to the verdict, on November 11, 2023, in the morning hours, Nasser left his home, got on his scooter, and drove to the taxi office where he met his partner, who has not yet been apprehended. The two equipped themselves with a pistol and drove together to an isolated parking lot near Abu Obeida road in Umm al-Lisan.

For about an hour, they waited for the deceased, planned the scooter‘s location, and the escape routes. Upon the deceased’s arrival at the scene, the partner fired several shots at the deceased, and Nasser got on the scooter, picked up the shooter, and participated in a quick escape, while the shooter fired another shot at the victim who was already lying on the road. As a result of the shooting, the victim was critically injured and his death was pronounced a short time later at the hospital.

The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office, through Adv. Miriam Ben Gal, argued that Nasser took a substantial and dominant part in the planning and execution of the murder, even though he did not shoot himself. According to the prosecution, the prolonged waiting, the meticulous planning of the waiting location, the scooter‘s position, and the escape routes, as well as the assistance in the quick escape, all indicate a clear and premeditated intent to kill the deceased.

The conviction was based on comprehensive video documentation that records Nasser at all stages of the incident, particularly his movements from home to the taxi office, his arrival at the parking lot, the long wait, the incident itself, and his return after the murder.

The court ruled, in accordance with his conviction, that the defendant took a substantial and dominant part in the shooting incident, even if he did not shoot himself, and that his participation in the planning and execution of the incident strengthened the intent to murder. Accordingly, the defendant was convicted of murder under aggravating circumstances and acquitted of the charge of carrying a weapon.

In the sentencing, Nasser was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation of NIS 250,000 to the family of the deceased, Alaa Abu Sarhan.