Court Criticizes Prison Service Over Detainee's Conditions

The Tel Aviv District Court on Friday accepted a petition filed on behalf of Agam Zarfati, rejecting the Israel Prison Service's (IPS) stance on her detention conditions. The court strongly criticized the conduct of prison guards towards Zarfati, as documented in a leaked video, and ordered the IPS to review the incident. Additionally, the court mandated a review of Zarfati's request to communicate with her parents, which had been broadly prohibited.

The court also ruled that Zarfati could not be held in solitary confinement and reduced her period of double cell isolation from 30 days to an additional six days. The defense stated following the ruling, "We expect IPS guards to respect themselves, the law, and Agam's presumption of innocence, while the attempt to place responsibility for the disaster on her young shoulders with a borderline charge belongs in court; and to refrain from losing control and the low professional standard seen in the video and its leak, which does not honor the IPS and its people."

Zarfati is accused of complicity in the July 11 murder of 19-year-old Benyahu Razi in Jerusalem. According to the indictment, a confrontation occurred between Razi and his friend, and Zarfati and Shilat Huta prior to the incident. Four minors then arrived at the apartment with knives and other weapons. During the ensuing altercation, Razi was stabbed in the chest, with the wound proving fatal. His friend was injured. The indictment states Zarfati and Huta were not among those who stabbed Razi, but the prosecution attributes to them a role in initiating and encouraging the event. Huta, present in the apartment during the attack, video-called Zarfati to show her what was happening in real-time, while Zarfati was in a car outside. Zarfati, Huta, and the four minors are all charged with intentional joint murder.