Military police suspected of forging soldier's appeal documents
A soldier sentenced to 20 days in jail for encouraging insubordination in the Amona evacuation claims his appeal date was forged and thus annulled under the assertion it was overdue; IDF launches investigation after discovering deletions and alleged amendments on the appeal document.
The Military Police's internal affairs unit is investigating a suspicion of forgery in appeal documents for the soldier Shlomo Mat, who was sentenced to 20 days in military prison after inciting to insubordination during the Amona evacuation.
Mat, an ultra-Orthodox soldier serving in a construction unit in the IDF's Judea and Samaria Division, was supposedly recorded in a video in which he allegedly encouraged insubordination in the Amona evacuation. The video was later spread via WhatsApp.
The IDF first considered filing criminal charges against him for rebellion violations, but due to social sensitivities regarding his case, it was decided to settle on a disciplinary trial.
Mat's commander, a lieutenant colonel in the Central Command, sentenced him to 20 days incarceration, which was appealed by Mat and his lawyer Menachem Shtauber and the Honenu organization.
The appeal filed by Mat was not discussed as the army claimed it was overdue—if the appeal is not discussed within 72 hours from the date of submission, the procedure is annulled.
After Mat claimed that the date and additional details in the appeal were forged to his detriment, the military decided to take that into consideration and bring his plea in front of a colonel, but the appeal was denied.
Mat claimed in his appeal that he did not record himself for the video and was not the one who distributed it, and so he believes that the punishment he received was not proportional.
"At first glance, it appears the appeal document had been tampered with, since the date seems to have been crossed out and amended," admitted the IDF representatives in response to the simultaneous appeal submitted by the soldier to the High Court of Justice.
The IDF had rejected Mat's claims in the appeal, and noted that the procedure was properly conducted and that he should serve his sentence in full.
If the High Court of Justice orders Mat's release, this would be the second time in the last few months in which such an event has occurred. A soldier who handed out pamphlets in the IDF Induction Center calling for the release of Elor Azaria, was tried and sentenced but the sentence wasn't carried out since the appeal he filed was not discussed within 72 hours.
The IDF Spokesperson stated in response that "the IDF takes such cases very seriously. On January 29 2017, the soldier was sentenced to 20 days of incarceration due to a video posted in which he calls for insubordination. The appeal filed by the soldier was rejected by a colonel. The state's response to the soldier's claims as part of an appeal to the High Court will be given to the court as is customary."
Military officials added that "the soldier's forgery claims will be investigated. In any case, they have no implication upon the disciplinary proceedings conducted against him."
Menachem Shtauber, the soldier's defense attorney, said in response that "beyond the legal flaws of the disciplinary proceeding, the forgery of the document by military authorities is a very serious step that should bother any individual."
