The mystery surrounding the death of an IDF intelligence officer who was incarcerated for what the military maintains were offenses that severely compromised state security, intensified Monday, as a military court allowed Israeli media to publish some of the details pertaining to the case, which has been placed under a comprehensive gag order.
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The Military Police are investigating the death of the officer, whose identity is under embargo. According to available details, the officer, who was arrested in September 2020 and was awaiting trial, was hospitalized in critical condition on the night of May 16-17, but doctors were unable to save him.
The motives for his actions, as well as their exact nature, are classified. A senior intelligence officer told Channel 12 News on Tuesday that it would likely "take years" before the information could be made public – if at all.
A military statement released on Monday said that the officer, who served in a technical division of the Military Intelligence Directorate, knowingly carried out a series of actions that severely compromised state security.
His motives remain unclear, as from the investigation so far, it appeared that he acted independently, for personal, non-ideological or economic motives.
The military stressed that the officer was not charged with treason, espionage, or contact with a foreign agent. He was, however, highly aware of the damage his actions were causing state security and was actively trying to hide them prior to his arrest.
The IDF further said that the officer cooperated with the investigation and confessed to many of the charges brought against him.
According to available details, the officer was held in several military detention facilities and spent the last eight months of his life at the Neveh Tzedek Prison – the IDF's newest detention facility in central Israel. The military said the officer was not held in solitary confinement, nor was his identity concealed from the other inmates. He received medical and psychological care while in the facility, and his family visited him regularly.
At his own request, while in prison, he was also discharged from the military.
Moreover, according to the IDF's statement, the officer's case was in the process of being settled through a plea bargain. He was represented by senior officers from the Military Defender's Office, who had full access to the materials gathered in the investigation.
Hearings in the case were held behind closed doors over the classified nature of the alleged offenses, but the officer and his attorney were present for all of them, and the officer's family was allowed to attend some of the hearings, as well.
Benny Kuznitz, the attorney representing the officer's family," told reporters Monday that, "The family wants to know what happened to their son. At the end of the day, there's an officer who, regardless of the charges he was facing, died in prison. They want to know who is responsible for it and how it happened, and they have the right to know."
Gag order doing more harm than good?
Israeli media outlets have appealed to the military to lift the embargo placed on the details of the case, arguing that the draconian censorship measure has bred widespread speculations about the nature of the officer's offenses, the charges brought against him, and the circumstances surrounding his death.
Moreover, the petition argued, the gag order was also rendered hollow by the fact that while Israeli media is barred from naming the officer or delving into his actions, his identity has already been revealed on social media, birthing various conspiracy theories on the case.
Yaron Hanin, the attorney representing Israeli media, argued Monday that it is because of the serious nature of the case that additional details must be made public, saying, "Inaccurate facts are being published and these particularly are able to harm national security."
The military also seemed amiable to partially lifting the gag order, with military prosecutor Lt. Col. Matan Solomosh, telling the court, "Our request to permit the publication of additional aspects of the case takes into account significant changes that have taken place recently, particularly media reports in Israel and around the world, some of which violate the gag order and others that include misleading information that bears security-related consequences.
"Circumstances have been created by which such reports could not only harm national security but also create an inaccurate representation of the late officer," he added.
Solomosh told the court that the military intended to disclose to the family the full nature of the charges brought against their son, "save for a small number of details that are particularly sensitive."
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