Beersheba Judge Fines Lawyer Personally After Attack on Prison Service

A Beersheba District Court judge imposed a personal sanction on a defense lawyer who used a hearing to launch sweeping accusations against Israel Prison Service officers. The case involved a prisoner serving 30 years for involvement in murder and planning terrorist activity, and the lawyer tried to block his transfer to court by describing prison facilities as “torture facilities” that would not shame the darkest regimes.

According to the ruling, the lawyer went far beyond legal argument and alleged systematic violence against Palestinian prisoners, but the state said no evidence was presented. The court noted this was not the first time the lawyer had used inflammatory language and made broad claims without proof. The state argued that the accusations were baseless and intended to defame prison officers who work under real danger.

Judge Ron Sulkine rejected the claims sharply, writing that “not a single piece of evidence” was submitted to support allegations of abuse. He said that defaming prison service personnel without a concrete incident, time, or place cannot come from a lawyer bound by truth and fairness, and added that “freedom of argument is not immunity for defamation” and “freedom of argument is not immunity for dangerous lies.”

After giving the lawyer a chance to retract his remarks, the judge said he chose instead to continue in the same aggressive tone. Sulkine ordered him to pay 5,000 shekels in personal costs to the state treasury, saying courts do not have to tolerate unrestrained attacks. The decision was presented as part of a broader judicial push to enforce courtroom decorum, professional ethics, and respect for law-enforcement and security officials. The article also notes that in recent weeks, amid arrests linked to protests against draft enlistment for yeshiva students, the Prison Service has adjusted food arrangements for ultra-Orthodox detainees so they can keep their religious way of life in custody.