The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court ordered on Monday the release of all seven suspects in the death of Eldar Dayan to four days of house arrest. The decision was made despite police efforts to keep them in custody, citing an ongoing investigation into serious offenses. The case, which began with Dayan's disappearance and the discovery of his body three weeks later, raised complex legal and evidentiary questions, primarily because the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute could not determine the official cause of death due to the state of the remains.
Despite these evidentiary challenges, the police attributed the charge of attempted murder to two of the suspects, Omri Peretz and Maxim Barbirman. A police representative argued at the hearing that the investigation is ongoing and that additional suspicions may be substantiated. The defense, led by attorneys Chen Baruch and Rinat Siboni, challenged the police's conduct, arguing that there is no evidentiary basis to justify the attempted murder charge and that suspects cannot be held indefinitely without a clear cause of death. It was also noted that the police failed to establish an evidentiary basis for a murder charge.
Police presented findings to the court from the investigation into the sequence of events leading up to the discovery of the body, including a fight involving Dayan and his two friends against five other youths from Petah Tikva. Investigative materials indicated gaps in the suspects' versions, including discrepancies between their testimonies and police call logs, as well as suspected tampering with a mobile phone. Judge Ronen Peleg rejected the police request to extend their detention and ordered their release under restrictive conditions, including full house arrest, intermittent supervision, and a 30-day prohibition on contacting those involved in the case. This decision highlights the legal difficulty faced by law enforcement in building a serious criminal case when forensic findings do not provide a clear causal link between the suspects' actions and the tragic outcome. The investigation is expected to continue regarding the evidence based on existing findings.