Israeli court clears Arab Israeli woman of failing to prevent bus bombing

JERUSALEM, Jan 24 (AFP) - An Arab Israeli student was on Monday acquitted of charges that she failed to prevent a bus bombing in 2002 in which nine people were killed in northern Israel, judicial sources said.
Yasra Bakri, from Bi'na village in the Galilee region, was arrested in August 2002 on charges of having failed to alert the authorities about a suicide bomber on the bus.
According to the indictment, Bakri and her friend allegely got off the bus near the northern town of Sfat shortly before the bomber detonated his explosives, killing nine and wounding 50.
The prosecution claimed Bakri and her friend had been warned off by the bomber, but the judge at Nazareth magistrates court said there was no basis for the claim that Bakri knew the suicide bomber was about to blow himself up.
After the bombing, the two went to a local police station to give testimony and Bakri was arrested.

01/24/2005 17:34 GMT - AFP