The Israel Prison Service has rejected a request by Amiram Ben-Uliel, a prisoner serving three life sentences, for conjugal visits. Ben-Uliel was convicted of three counts of murder in the arson attack in 2015 on the Dawabsheh family home in the West Bank village of Duma.
Ben-Uliel recently petitioned against the restriction preventing him from receiving conjugal visits. In its response, obtained by ynet, prison authorities said security officials had recorded four instances of what they described as “negative involvement” by Ben-Uliel in 2023 and 2024.
Beyond that, security officials appear to be particularly concerned about a public campaign currently being waged outside the prison in support of Ben-Uliel’s release. The document states that “open-source intelligence indicates that a Facebook account named ‘Justice for Amiram’ has been established, with the aim of working toward his release and improving his prison conditions.”
It further notes that “as part of this activity, a leaflet is distributed weekly calling for participation in support and solidarity demonstrations with the inmate, which take place at midday on Fridays near the wall of the prison where he is held. In conclusion, this is a security prisoner who committed a grave offense, and we oppose granting conjugal visits.”
The group calling itself the "Justice for Amiram Headquarters" responded with a statement: “Amiram Ben-Uliel is the most persecuted prisoner in Israel by the Shin Bet and the judicial junta. He was tortured with severe methods and convicted despite clear eyewitness testimony describing two arsonists who arrived by car and entered the house, in total contradiction to the conviction, which presents a completely different story, along with many serious flaws and holes in the case. Now the Shin Bet and the judicial junta are trying to silence criticism of the framing of Ben-Uliel. In a real democracy, Amiram would be free and his torturers would be in prison.”
Ben-Uliel was arrested in 2015 following a joint police and Shin Bet investigation into the arson attack on the Dawabsheh family home in Duma, in which Saad and Riham Dawabsheh and their infant son Ali were killed after a Molotov cocktail was thrown into their house.
In 2020, Ben-Uliel was convicted of three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, arson offenses and conspiracy to commit a crime motivated by racism. He was acquitted of membership in a terrorist organization. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms plus an additional 20 years in prison.