Attorney Yonatan "Yoni" Giorno, who was convicted in 2001 of kidnapping a foreign worker from the Philippines and expelling her from the country, is currently running for 29th place on the Likud primary ticket.
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That spot, according to current opinion polls, is virtually assured to be sufficient to enter the next Knesset following the November 1 election.
Giorno served three months of community service in place of a 15-month suspended sentence for his crime.
According to the court ruling, the incident occurred after an acquaintance of Giorno, Avi Goren, had an affair with the worker – identified in the reports as "Evelyn" – and wanted to keep the relationship a secret. Goren approached Giorno and his brother, Dov, and the three agreed that in return for getting her out of the country, her relatives, who themselves were concerned she had been working as a prostitute, would pay them.
Giorno, his brother, a female accomplice named Iris Markovitch, and a male accomplice named Alon Markovitch, according to the court, forcibly took "Evelyn" to Ben Gurion Airport and physically prevented her from using a phone to call for help, the reports said.
She managed to call the police from the terminal and alert authorities.
Speaking to Israel Hayom, Jorno said: "I was a kid in a security company; was I in the immigration police that I could kick someone out of the country?"
Giorno also posted a message on Facebook, saying: "When the opponents start defaming, smearing, and recruiting the media, you are probably a threat to them. Those who know me and my work for the past 20 years are not influenced by recycled events that are ground to dust in every election campaign in which I run.
"I'm not afraid and I don't run away, but stand up everywhere with courage. I won't let a handful of leftists take me down. So many have tried and failed; you won't succeed either. I have only one thing to say to you (yes, you) fight like a man because whoever slings mud is also hurt. I fight to the end and believe in my friends," Giorno added.
The Likud stated: "Contrary to reports, so far Yoni Giorno has not submitted a candidacy for the Likud."
Zahava Galon, who is vying to lead the left-wing Meretz party in the next Knesset, said in a tweet that "Likud is a party hijacked by criminals. They must not be allowed to hijack the state."
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