'Ajami cop' to compensate settler for assault

Good cop, bad cop: It seems Eran Naim's 15 minutes of fame as a police officer will only pertain to his role in the Oscar-nominated film "Ajami". His conduct as a cop in reality did not win him any prizes, and also led to his conviction on violent behavior toward a protestor, for which he was made to pay a fine of tens of thousands of shekels.

After refusing to file a statement of defense for his indictment, Naim appealed to the court with an emotional request to represent himself, due to his dire emotional and financial situation. However his claims, as it turned out, did not stop him from appearing in the highly acclaimed film.

In 2005, as right-wing protest against the Gush Katif disengagement was at its peak, Naim was sent to maintain the order at a protest in Ramat Gan. During a confrontation with one of the demonstrators, Akiva Vitkin, Naim stuck his fingers deep into Vitkin's nostrils and pulled his head back.

The incident was captured on camera and was never denied or condemned by Naim, who continued to claim that he used reasonable "normative" force. However, following two testimonies from police officers who said that the technique Naim used was "not taught and not recommended," Justice Hanan Efrati, sentenced Naim to six months of community service and dismissal from the police force. Naim filed an appeal that was denied.

Along with the help of right-wing elements, Vitkin filed for damages against Naim and another police officer, who he claimed beat him in the police station. Naim failed to respond to the lawsuit and never filed a statement of defense.

Only in January, after he was given a deadline to present his statement of defense, Naim appealed to the court with an emotional statement in which he said he was in heavy debt, and was therefore unable to hire a defense lawyer. He requested to be allowed to represent himself and appear on his own in front of the judge.

In order to prove his claims, Naim disclosed medical reports that diagnosed him as suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies, and claimed he "was arrested only days ago for illegal gambling."

Even prosecutor began to pity him

The emotional claim presented by Naim managed to arouse the pity of the prosecutor himself – that is until they were proven to be false. As it turned out, at the same time Naim was "suffering" from hardship, he also managed to launch a new career as an actor in the movie Ajami, where he played the role of the "good cop" Dando.

Vitkin, who was shocked to see Naim in the movie, said during an interview with Channel 2 that "the choice of Eran Naim for the role of the cop is similar to the choice of a rapist to play in a movie about rape."

With the help of attorney Haim Cohen, who represented him on behalf of Human Rights Organization of Yesha, Vitkin appealed to the court and asked for a verdict to be made in the absence of a statement of defense.

Finally, four months ago, the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court instructed Naim to pay Vitkin a total of NIS 25,000 (about $6,600) in compensation, on top of an additional NIS 1000 ($260) for trial expenses.