Roman Zadorov: Israel: (False confession - and much more - case: Major (Welcome) Development: In prison for more than a decade for murdering a 13-year-old girl despite his repeated assertions that he had been wrongly convicted, Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that based on new evidence presented by his attorneys, that "there was sufficient reasonable doubt to exonerate Zadarov," the 'Times of Israel' reports..."His lawyers, along with thousands of vocal members of the public, insist that Zadorov was framed for an act he didn’t commit and that the real murderer was a woman whose name is gagged by a court order and who suffers from mental illness. Attorney Yoram Halevi filed a request for a trial with the Supreme Court in October, claiming the existence of “a lot of new evidence that proves unequivocally that Roman did not murder the deceased and could not have murdered the deceased.”

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of  scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects (especially young suspects)  are to widely used interrogation methods  such as  the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As  all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including inducement. deception (read ‘outright lies’) physical violence,  and even physical and mental torture.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY:  "Rada was found dead in a bathroom stall in her Katzrin school in the Golan Heights, with slashes to her neck, stab wounds across her body and severe blows to her head. Shortly after the murder, Zadorov, who was employed at the school at the time as a maintenance worker, was arrested and charged with the killing. Two weeks after his arrest, police announced Zadorov had confessed to Rada’s murder and reenacted the attack for investigators. But a day later, Zadorov’s defense attorney announced that his client had recanted, claiming his confession and reenactment were coerced and included incorrect information. In 2010, nearly four years after he was arrested, the Nazareth District Court sentenced him to life in prison.

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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY:  "Following a DNA analysis by investigators, the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute announced last year that the hair matched that of the former boyfriend of the woman, reigniting speculation on who committed the killing and whether Zadorov could be given a retrial. The ex-boyfriend, whose name is also under gag order, has been referred to in Hebrew media reports by the initials A.H., while the woman has been identified as O.K. “There are 50 bits of evidence supporting and strengthening A.H.’s version that incriminates O.K. in the murder,” Halevi said, referring to testimony given by A.H. to police six years after the murder that O.K. committed the crime. O.K. is now claimed to have told three people she committed the murder.

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STORY: "Supreme Court orders retrial of convicted killer of 13-year-old Tair Rada," The Times of Israel reports, on May 11, 2021.

SUB-HEADING: "Justice says there is reasonable doubt to exonerate Roman Zadorov who has spent more than a decade in prison for brutal 2006 killing of schoolgirl."

GIST: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a retrial for Roman Zadorov, sentenced to life in prison for murdering a 13-year-old girl despite his repeated assertions he had been wrongly convicted.

Zadorov, a Ukrainian-Israeli handyman, has spent more than a decade in prison for the brutal 2006 murder of Tair Rada

His lawyers, along with thousands of vocal members of the public, insist that Zadorov was framed for an act he didn’t commit and that the real murderer was a woman whose name is gagged by a court order and who suffers from mental illness.

Attorney Yoram Halevi filed a request for a trial with the Supreme Court in October, claiming the existence of “a lot of new evidence that proves unequivocally that Roman did not murder the deceased and could not have murdered the deceased.”

In his final ruling as a Supreme Court justice, Hanan Melcer said Tuesday that based on the evidence presented by his attorneys, there was sufficient reasonable doubt to exonerate Zadorov.

Rada was found dead in a bathroom stall in her Katzrin school in the Golan Heights, with slashes to her neck, stab wounds across her body and severe blows to her head.

Shortly after the murder, Zadorov, who was employed at the school at the time as a maintenance worker, was arrested and charged with the killing.

Two weeks after his arrest, police announced Zadorov had confessed to Rada’s murder and reenacted the attack for investigators. But a day later, Zadorov’s defense attorney announced that his client had recanted, claiming his confession and reenactment were coerced and included incorrect information.

In 2010, nearly four years after he was arrested, the Nazareth District Court sentenced him to life in prison.

Rada’s murder case has long gripped the Israeli public, due both to the brutal way in which she was killed and continuing accusations that it was not Zadorov who committed the murder.

Following a DNA analysis by investigators, the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute announced last year that the hair matched that of the former boyfriend of the woman, reigniting speculation on who committed the killing and whether Zadorov could be given a retrial.

The ex-boyfriend, whose name is also under gag order, has been referred to in Hebrew media reports by the initials A.H., while the woman has been identified as O.K.

“There are 50 bits of evidence supporting and strengthening A.H.’s version that incriminates O.K. in the murder,” Halevi said, referring to testimony given by A.H. to police six years after the murder that O.K. committed the crime.

O.K. is now claimed to have told three people she committed the murder.

The state attorney’s office and the Justice Ministry have previously said that all the evidence against O.K. had been thoroughly checked and found to be unreliable.

The Supreme Court previously rejected A.H.’s testimony about the woman while police concluded his version was unreliable and an attempt to frame his former lover, the Ynet news site reported in 2018."

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-orders-retrial-of-convicted-killer-of-13-year-old-tair-rada/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;