The Israel Prison Service has decided to grant Israel Perry ,an attorney convicted of defrauding Holocaust survivors out of hundreds of millions of Deutsche Marks, a three-month medical leave from prison due to a serious illness.
Perry, 70, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of stealing millions from Holocaust survivors. He was found guilty of cheating survivors who were represented by the Association for Implementing the Social Security Covenant (AISSC), which he headed, out of hundreds of millions of Deutsche Marks.
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In 2008 he was sentenced to 12 years in prison at first, but the sentence was later reduced to 10.
Israel Perry in court (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
As in the past, the Parole Board, which is headed by a retired judge, convened far from the public eye and the protocol has yet to be published. Perry himself, who is currently on leave from prison, was not present at the hearing which was held at the Sharon Prison as he said he was feeling ill.
"All parole board hearings are held carried out like thieves in the night," one source told Ynet. "It is time that the (parole) committees work with transparency and not in the dark. It is the public's right to know what happens at these hearings.
- "Moreover, the prisoner should not be asked whether he agrees to have his request and the ruling publicized." The courts, the Justice Ministry and the Prison Service have all claimed that they are not responsible for the committees.
The State Prosecutor's Office approved Perry's release for a limited period of three months.
Justice Ministry Spokesman Moshe Cohen said "In line with the amendment to the parole law, which came into force recently and which expanded the grounds for temporary release due to medical reasons - the Prosecution gave its consent, based on medical opinions presented (at the hearing), and which we will not expand upon on account of (the prisoner's) right to privacy, that prisoner Perry would be released temporarily in order to receive medical care."
'Hands at our throats'
- Cohen stressed that "the prosecution agreed to the temporary release subject to the pending NIS 50 million ($13.3 million) in bail, house arrest, wearing an electronic tag on his ankle at all times, a hold departure order and submitting his passport (to the authorities)."
The Justice Ministry sought to emphasize that the matter was in no shape or form connected to Perry's conviction, which stands, or his sentence.
Debra Reichart who was one of the first complainants against Perry, expressed her disappointment over the decision to release Perry.
"It's a disgrace that money can buy the world. You can't offer him (medical) care in prison? This man is sitting and running his struggle for nine years, with his hands at our throats not releasing the funds he stole from us."
Reichart added and wondered where justice has gone "What about Justice Caspi's ruling, the one that went through all legal instances…Why is he different from all the other prisoners, him who has stolen all our money?"