Guards convicted in abuse of disabled man

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JERUSALEM, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Four former Israeli border guards have been convicted of beating and abusing a mentally disabled Palestinian man at a checkpoint in 2009, officials say.

A Jerusalem court found the victim was beaten and cursed by the guards, who also poured water on him and urged a dog to attack him, Ynetnews.com reported Thursday.

Assaf Kone, Mevorach Benyamin, Buziar Farhan and Dor Yakobi were convicted of abuse. Yakobi was convicted of aggravated assault; the others were convicted of intimidation.

The presiding judge said that while the defendants were only lightly aggressive, their actions were "cruel" and "inhumane."

"These acts aimed only to hurt and humiliate, hence the abuse conviction," he said.

The men were indicted after police received a copy of a video the guards shot of the incident.

The victim was later located by human rights organization B-Tselem, who found the man in a jail where he was being held for illegally working in Israel.