Detention facilities at Ketziot
צילום: שאול לוי , רמת הנגב
IPS officer charged with smuggling phones
Senior Ketziot Prison guard accused of bringing cell phones to Palestinian prisoners in cigarette cartons
A senior officer with the Prison Service (IPS) has been indicted on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges for allegedly smuggling cellular phones to Palestinian prisoners in exchange for money.
Major Monir Halabi, 39, served as a section commander at Ketziot Prison, where Palestinian prisoners are detained for short periods of time.
The indictment, filed with the Beersheba District Court Wednesday, accuses the officer of accommodating a Fatah prisoner in June of 2009 by bringing him a cellular phone from his wife, who visited him in prison.
Halabi also conveyed phones hidden in cigarette cartons to prisoners in Ketziot, and earned altogether NIS 6,000 ($1,600) for his trouble, the indictment says.
It adds that when the officer believed he was in danger of being caught, he began hiding the phones in camera cases, which he carried through security with his personal weapon. He also kept phones in lockers intended for the staff’s personal belongings, according to the charges.
Halabi was arrested last month, and confessed to the charges against him, but during a second interrogation he retracted his confession, claiming he had been “stunned”. His attorney says he is denying the charges, but IPS guards say they have in their possession a number of phones Halabi used.
'Took advantage of his position'
During a court hearing for the remand of his arrest the Southern District Prosecutor Tal Cohen-Adir claimed Halabi should be detained until the finalization of proceedings against him because he constituted a security liability.
“The officer took advantage of his position and status to smuggle phones to Palestinian prisoners for bribes, despite the clear dangers involved in such prisoners possessing phones,” the prosecutor said.
Ynet revealed a year and a half ago that crimes such as those committed by Halabi were common among officers of the IPS. “There were many cases I know personally, in which we would pay up to 500 shekels (around $130) to personnel, whether a guard or someone else, to bring a cellular phone into prison,” said a prisoner, adding that the cost of such a phone was between $4,000-$5,500.
