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Hadas Malka

Hadas Malka killer's accomplice to stay in prison

Be'er Sheva District Court overturns parole board's decision to grant early release to Hani Dari, who drove terrorist guilty of stabbing Border Police officer in 2017, ruling he still poses danger to public safety and country's security; Judge Yael Raz-Levy: 'We believe the parole board’s decision contains a number of errors.'

Hani Dari, who drove the terrorists who killed Border Police woman Hadas Malka in an attack in Jerusalem, will not be granted early release from prison, the Be'er Sheva District Court ruled on Thursday.

 

 

The court accepted an appeal by the Southern District Attorney's Office to a decision by the parole board to cut a third of his sentence.

 

Ahead of the decision, David Malka, the soldier's father, urged the judges "leave the accomplice in prison. All we have left is to cry every day."

 

Hani Dari (Photo: Haim Horenstein)
Hani Dari (Photo: Haim Horenstein)

 

After the decision was made, Malka said that "minimal justice has been done."

 

The judges’ panel, headed by Yael Raz-Levy, explained the ruling.

 

"The court intervenes in decisions if a legal or factual error has been made, or if the decision is deemed as unreasonable. With that in mind, we believe that the parole board’s decision contains in itself a number of errors,” stressed Raz-Levy.

 

“Firstly, the parole board did not consider the potential danger that could arise following the early release, and in our opinion, it did not prove that said danger has diminished," the judge added.

 

The judge emphasized that the committee must take into consideration the potential danger posed by the prisoner to the public and to the security of the state, his rehabilitation and his behavior in prison, and also take into account the severity and the circumstance of the offense for which he was imprisoned.

 

"The execution of this deadly attack would not have been possible without the defendant’s contribution. The committee should have taken into account the opinion of Shin Bet, which underlines that the defendant—who is a resident of Israel—had a duty to prevent the entry of illegals, so considering the severity of the attack, the fatal outcome and the need for deterrence, the issue of retribution and deterrence should have held more weight.

 

“There is a need to deter entry of illegal workers,” stated Raz-Levy, before adding that the possibility of the defendant being reinstated upon his release in his previous position in transportation, indicates that he still poses a potential threat to the “public’s safety."

 

David Malka, Hadas's father, appealed to the judges in the courtroom.

 

"Since that fateful Friday … our souls are filled with pain and sorrow. Pain, which is physical and emotional … Hadas, who loved life so much and contributed to the state, will never have a family of her own,” he bemoaned.

 

"Since they’ve informed us that the committee intends to shorten the sentence of the terrorist’s accomplice, we’ve been overwhelmed with sadness and pain," he went went on to write in a letter, emphasizing that if “his sentence will be shortened, it will be a crushing blow for us, from which we will not be able to recover."

 

The representative of the Southern District Attorney's Office, Einat Balanero, reiterated the sentiments of Judge Raz-Levy, saying that the committee overlooked the potential danger the defendant poses to the public.

 

"The committee did not consider, as it’s obligated, the potential danger in a general sense. The defendant is not a clarinet player or a shoemaker, he transports illegals. Often time we see the phrase 'miraculously,’ but in this case, no miracle happened.

 

“Although he didn’t kill Hadas, the severity of the negligence was so great that had he not been involved in this, Hadas would probably have continued to live her life. This is not rhetoric. It is real danger," the attorney concluded.

 

Hadas Malka
Hadas Malka
 

 

Dari’s attorney said the district court does not have the authority to overturn the parole board’s decision.

 

"The court should examine whether the committee's decision is reasonable, and the district court shouldn’t act in place of the committee and deviate from its authority," the attorney exclaimed.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the court's ruling to accept the appeal against the decision to grant early release to the perpetrator’s accomplice.

 

"This is the right decision. Murderers and their collaborators must be punished with the utmost severity and serve their sentences to the fullest," the prime minister opined.

 

Attorney Haim Bleicher of the Honenu organization, who is helping the Malka family, issued a statement on behalf of the family following the ruling.

 

"The Malka family's position expresses the sentiment of all Israeli citizens—in the war on terror, lenient attitude towards those connected to terrorism is unacceptable," Bleicher emphasized.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.11.18, 18:51
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