The Haifa Magistrate's Court on Monday ordered the immediate release, without bail, of two German tourists arrested overnight Saturday on suspicion of espionage after photographing the exterior of Damon Prison on Mount Carmel, where security prisoners are held.
Judge Orit Kantor said she could find no provision in Israeli law prohibiting photography of a prison from outside its grounds and wrote: "I found no evidence whatsoever supporting the suspicion."
Damon Prison
(Photo: Nachum Segal)
On Saturday night, prison guards at Damon spotted the two men standing outside the facility and photographing its entrance. Officers from the nearby Nesher police station were called to the scene and arrested them. An Israel Prison Service official claimed that photographs of "security facilities and security-related activities" had been found in their possession. However, the Shin Bet security agency quickly concluded that the incident did not constitute an espionage case and left the investigation to the police.
Kantor criticized the decision to arrest the tourists, writing: "I believe discretion should have been exercised, especially when Israel's public diplomacy is not at its best these days."