Bisan's partner Abu-Ravis
Photo: Hertzel Yosef
The Beersheba District Court on Tuesday sentenced former Border Guard operations officer Badi Bisan to eight and a half years in prison and 18 months of probation for smuggling drugs, fraud, and breach of trust between the years 2005-2007.
The judges determined that Bisan, a 33-year old resident of the Druze village of Jatt, was convicted of exploiting sensitive security information that he received while on the job. The judges emphasized the gravity of his crimes, seeing as his office, as an officer in the Border Guard, was to help maintain the security of Israel's borders.
Bisan's partner in crime, Salem Abu-Ravis – a Bedouin resident of the Negev – was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and one year probation.
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"He acted as part of a network, in total opposition to the goal towards which he was required to act, being an officer in the IDF," the verdict said.
However, the judges were inclined to be lenient with Bisan, as he belongs to "a family that has contributed much to the State of Israel, raised its children with values of kindness and serving their country, and of which many relatives have fallen or been wounded while serving in the IDF."
Bisan was convicted based on his confession, after he obtained a plea bargain with the Police Investigation Unit. As part of the deal, clauses relating to intelligence Bisan had disclosed regarding IDF patrols near Israel's border with Egypt and new technological devices used by the IDF for surveillance of the border were erased from the indictment.
Prosecutor Moshe Sa'ada told Ynet that the espionage clauses had been erased after it had been established that Bisan had transferred only information having to do with felonious activity, and nothing to do with issues of security.
"Bisan committed very serious felonies, and cause a breach of trust in the entire unit to which he belonged, including the soldiers that guard the border day and night.
"Though Bisan has expressed remorse for his actions, I don't think his remorse is fully genuine because he still has not disclosed the names of all those involved in the affair," Sa'ada said.