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Israel soldier who accidentally shot colleague charged with manslaughter

May 9, 2018 at 11:57 am

Israeli soldiers [Najeh Hashlamoun/Apaimages]

An Israeli soldier has been charged with manslaughter for the killing of his friend and colleague two months ago, reported Ynet News.

The soldier, only named as Sgt. N., shot his friend, Sgt. Shachar Strug, in the chest in their barracks on 20 March in what the defendant described as a tragic “accident”.

Sgt. N.’s lawyers said they were disappointed with the decision, stating that the “appropriate charge” would be “negligent homicide”.

An investigation by Israeli authorities subsequently revealed that “in the past year alone…three similar incidents in which a bullet was accidentally discharged took place” in the same unit, but “without casualties”.

The investigation concluded that “this was not an isolated incident, but rather part of a culture of illegal use of firearms”.

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