Prison Service Chief Faces New Charges Over Witness Harassment

The prosecution has decided to file an additional indictment against Kobi Yaacobi, the Commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, for allegedly harassing witness Lior Abudraham. Retired Commissioner Alona Shoshan is also expected to face charges for harassing and suborning a witness, as well as evidence tampering. Abudraham, who was questioned under caution following a complaint by Shoshan, is not expected to be indicted.

The indictments against Yaacobi and Shoshan are contingent upon hearings for both individuals. Abudraham is a key witness in the case against Yaacobi. After Yaacobi was slated for indictment, he claimed Abudraham was having an affair with an investigator from the Police Internal Investigations Department (Mahash) and called for an investigation into Abudraham and the cancellation of the indictment against himself. Investigations into Abudraham and the investigator, including polygraph tests, yielded no incriminating results.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara had previously established an external review team to investigate Yaacobi, Abudraham, and Shoshan. Shoshan had recorded Abudraham and submitted an edited recording, alleging an affair with a Mahash investigator. Subsequently, Shoshan filed a complaint accusing Abudraham of sexual harassment, leading to his questioning under caution.

Yaacobi's attorney, Uri Korb, stated that they had not yet received official notification and suggested the decision was leaked, criticizing its timing five days before elections. He argued that the investigation should have focused on Mahash's conduct, citing recordings and testimonies that allegedly showed the main prosecution witness having an inappropriate relationship with the head of Mahash and claiming the prosecutor was in love with him. Korb called the decision to summon the Commissioner for a hearing, based on his complaint about Mahash's conduct, a "stain on the system."