The IDF on Thursday said there were no security concerns surrounding the publication of the name and photograph of the intelligence officer who died in military prison last month and that it was his family that requested his identity remain under a gag order.
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Attorney Benny Kuznitz, who represents the family, said: "The IDF Spokesperson forgot that we don't live in the 1980s, and much in the way you can't disappear a person, you can't brief journalists and publish irresponsible statements.
"The contents of the statement are in violation of agreements with the prosecution that the security risks in publishing [the name] have not yet been considered by the Operations Directorate," he added.
According to the IDF, the officer had been detained in several military detention facilities under his own name, was never held in solitary confinement, and received medical and psychological care as per his rights. His family members visited him in prison and were in continuous contact with him. He was also in contact with two of his friends, and officials from the Military Intelligence Directorate visited him several times, the army said.
At the time of his death as he was charged with severe national security offenses, the precise nature of which is also censored.
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 spent the last eight months of his life at the Neveh Tzedek Prison – the IDF's newest detention facility in central Israel.
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.
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."
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