Military court reduces sentence of officer convicted of spying
Judges reduce sentence for decorated Bedouin officer out of health considerations
The Military Appeals Court on Monday accepted an appeal by an IDF officer convicted of spying for the enemy and drug trafficking and reduced his sentence from 15 to 10 years in jail.
In April 2006, a military court in Tel Aviv found Lieutenant Colonel Omar al-Hayeb – a decorated Bedouin officer - guilty of severe espionage and contact with a Hizbullah agent, as well as two charges of drug trafficking from Lebanon. He was acquitted of another drug dealing offense and of treason.
In June of the same year, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was dismissed from the IDF. Al-Hayeb appealed the decree, on the claim that he had been framed and "betrayed by the State".
The military court agreed to reduce his sentence out of consideration for his health – he is considered 98 percent disabled, as a result of his military service. He was severely wounded in 1996, while in pursuit after Hizbullah gunmen on the northern border.
Although they reduced his sentence, the appeals court upheld the sentence to strip al-Hayeb of his rank and expel him from the army.
In response to the appeals court's decision, brother Hassan al-Hayeb said, the verdict "will not change our stance towards Israel. We will remain loyal to the State and part of it."
