Honenu Attorney Menashe Yado; Photo credit: Honenu
Wednesday, February 21, 2024, 12:48 Almost two months ago, soldiers in the Prison Service’s First Response Force Unit were suspected of beating a terrorist to death in Ketziot Prison. During a prison riot of terrorist security prisoners, the soldiers were forced to use force against a group of prisoners. Shortly thereafter, one of them died of a medical cause. The terrorist security prisoner who died was a Yehuda and Shomron resident serving a long sentence for wearing an explosive belt, among other crimes. He was convicted of attempted murder, shooting at people, membership in an illegal organization, conspiring to intentionally cause death, and conducting military training.
The soldiers were interrogated and released under restrictions, including suspension from their duties for two weeks, after which they returned to their unit. However, subsequently, they were informed that they would be dismissed from their positions in their unit. They were not granted a hearing as required by law and Prison Service directives. Following the suspension, Honenu Attorney Menashe Yado, who is representing some of the soldiers, wrote letters to the Prison Service demanding that they return the soldiers to their unit and conduct a hearing as required by law.
The soldiers were not returned to their unit, and neither was a hearing held. On February 20, Attorney Yado petitioned the Be’er Sheva Administrative Court with a request to order the Prison Service to return the soldiers to their jobs. In the petition, Attorney Yado detailed the prolonged injury to the soldiers following their suspension: “For the petitioners, this is a very hard blow – a very hard mental one. Their morale is damaged, their level of functioning has been lowered, and they feel betrayal and evasion by the system. The Prison Service transferred the petitioners from their duties without discussion and granted none of them a hearing as required by law. Even letters from the undersigned were to no avail. According to the Prison Service, as stated in the response to the letters from the undersigned, the transfer [of the soldiers] from their duties is temporary, until the completion of the investigation. This ‘temporary’ transfer acutely harms the petitioners and is not a simple matter for any of them. The suspension is completely unjustified, and there is no reasonable basis for carrying it out.”
Furthermore, Attorney Yado questions the reason for the removal of the soldiers from their duties: “The suspension appears to be tainted with ulterior motives, pressure from media criticism and motivation to clear the Prison Service of responsibility for this incident. This was done at the expense of the prison guards. Under the circumstances, it would be reasonable to wait for the outcome of the investigation and not to sentence the petitioners ahead of time, especially since the chances of an indictment at this stage appear extremely slight. The Prison Service acted without a hearing. If they had conducted a hearing, it is extremely likely that they would have reached a completely different outcome. The Prison Service acted collectively, not individually, and suspended all the petitioners from their duties. This follows the inappropriateness of not holding hearings. The Prison Service acted in a discriminatory manner. Concerning the escape of prisoners from Gilboa Prison [in 2021], the Prison Service did not transfer the suspects in this debacle before the results of the investigation were publicized. However, here, when the matter involves the prison’s First Response security soldiers, the Prison Service suspended them from their duties unjustifiably and without proper proceedings.”
In conclusion, Attorney Yado requested the court to order the return of the soldiers to their duties: “Collective dismissal by the Prison Service of all its soldiers is unreasonable, unjustified, and a gross injustice to the soldiers. The Prison Service should back them and, under the circumstances, treat them as innocent until proven otherwise. The plaintiffs currently feel disparaged, humiliated, and pushed into a corner. They feel unseen and unheard. They have been collectively abandoned following long years of dedicated work in the system. Nobody even spoke to them. The petitioners ask the court to hold intermediate proceedings for giving relief, conducting a hearing for the [soldiers], and to give temporary relief according to which the [soldiers] will be returned to their unit and their duties until a hearing is held.”
Honenu Attorney Menashe Yado reflected on the case: “A gloomy picture is being painted of inferior treatment by the Prison Service of the soldiers and the prison guards. Exceptional soldiers and prison guards were collectively transferred from their duties by phone, without clarification or a discussion with them. They were merely informed by phone. I hope and believe that the court will accept the claims of the soldiers and prison guards.”