End of the Transfer of Security Prisoners to Courts Across the Country and Sessions from Inside the Prison

Final approval: Security prisoners’ sessions will be held via video from prison. Knesset member Vogel: “An additional tool in combating terrorism and deterrence.”

Kobi Eliyahu 02/26 20:08
The Knesset’s General Assembly approved today (Wednesday) in the second and third readings the dramatic law presented by Knesset member Tzvika Vogel, which will stop the transfer of security prisoners to the courts. The new law stipulates that the default option for these prisoners’ sessions will be via video conference, without the need to physically transport them outside prison walls.

The step aims to reduce the significant security risks associated with transporting prisoners on the country’s roads and the friction with guards. According to the law, the physical presence of the prisoner will only be allowed by decision of the Chairman of a Central Court, after receiving the position of the prison service and for specific reasons that must be recorded.

The Chairman of the National Security Committee, Knesset member Tzvika Vogel, welcomed the law’s inclusion in the legal record, stating: “This law is an additional tool in combating terrorism. We are reducing unnecessary risks and enhancing deterrence.” Vogel confirmed that this is a necessary step to protect the security of Israeli citizens.

The Chairman of the Constitution Committee, Knesset member Simcha Rothman, who supported and promoted the initiative, also expressed satisfaction, saying: “The State of Israel will not expose its citizens and guards to danger to allow prisoners tours across the country on their way to court. This law restores sound reasoning.” Rothman noted that the law permanently enshrines an arrangement that began as a temporary measure during wartime.

The law will come into effect immediately, saving the state significant logistical resources related to security and transport, while maintaining judicial procedures conducted live from the prison to the courtroom via direct broadcast.

They do not want to ease the suffering of prisoners as some might understand; rather, they do not want to see them at all, with their emaciated bodies and the diseases that afflict them. They want them either dead or in underground prisons. This is a fundamental violation of their rights, even if the transfer to courts was a torturous journey.
Lawyer Elias Sabag