The state prosecutor in the southern district on Monday informed the lawyers of two young Israelis accused of raping a Danish tourist that they would drop the indictment against the two due to problems with the evidence given by the complainants.

Ron Roditi and Ben Ever, residents of Kibbutz Ein Gedi, were accused of raping the 18-year-old-girl while she was staying on the kibbutz in April. A third Ein Gedi resident, Dan Lahav, was accused of raping a fellow Danish tourist, also aged 18. Lahav will still face charges.

The two complainants, “L” and “M,” gave detailed testimonies to the police, in which “L” accused Roditi and Ever, and “M” accused Lahav. All three Israelis denied the charges against them.

According to the indictment, Roditi, Ever and Lahav met the two women in a pub on the kibbutz, and the five drove to Lahav’s house where they spent time drinking. “M” later remained at Lahav’s house, where she said Lahav raped her, while “L” went with the other two men.

The other woman said the two men took her to a lawn where they threw her down and raped her. However the two men said they drove her to her room. As proof, they showed police footage from their cell phones. The prosecutor said in court that the mobile phones show footage of the men throwing her on the grass. The footage shows them telling the woman to “kiss us,” and when she says no they then tell her to “have sex with us.” When she again refuses, the suspects are seen pulling her out of the car and throwing her down.

Ironically, it was the suspects that handed over the filmed footage to the police, who thought that it would disprove the alleged victim’s version of what happened.

haaretz.com