Sufian Maslouhi, convicted in 1994 of murdering jewelry dealer Menashe Atar, could be acquitted after spending decades in prison. Prosecutors now support overturning the conviction, even without a retrial, though he will remain in prison until 2036 for a separate murder conviction.
The State Attorney’s Office informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it supports Sufian Maslouhi’s request for a retrial, and, in a rare step, even his acquittal without holding a new trial.
Maslouhi, also known as “the Israeli Michael Jackson” due to his resemblance to the late singer, was convicted in 1994 of murdering jewelry dealer Menashe Atar. His request for retrial argued that the confession he gave to police and in court was false, made while he was in distress during prolonged solitary confinement, during which he was also sexually assaulted by an informant placed in his cell.
Even if acquitted in this case, Maslouhi will remain in prison. He was convicted in a separate murder case, which is not subject to the current request. The president commuted his sentence to 42 years, and he is expected to be released in September 2036.
Maslouhi gave his confession while in custody for a different case, when he was just 18. During his detention, police approached him as part of an investigation into three previously unsolved murder cases.
Police presented Maslouhi with investigative materials from the cases and used him to incriminate eight other individuals, who were innocent and had no connection to the murders. In the 1990 incident, Atar was shot, critically wounded and later died of his injuries. Maslouhi was sentenced to life in prison.
In its statement, the State Attorney’s Office said its position was shaped by “unique circumstances” uncovered in a reexamination of the case. That review considered a previous court ruling that acquitted Maslouhi’s alleged accomplices and raised serious doubts about the reliability of Maslouhi’s confession, even though it was given “freely and willingly.”
Among the considerations, the prosecution noted Maslouhi is already serving a concurrent life sentence for another murder for which his responsibility is not in dispute, and given the unique circumstances of this case, more than three decades later, there is no legal or practical justification for holding a retrial.
The State Attorney emphasized that its support for acquittal does not imply any flaw in Maslouhi’s confession, but rather reflects an “extraordinary and unique case” examined with great care, balancing the principle of finality in legal proceedings with considerations of justice.
Maslouhi did not know of the murder cases but cooperated with the police under emotional pressure and in return for promised benefits. He quickly became a key witness in all three murder investigations. In the Atar murder case, Maslouhi confessed to having personally taken part in planning and carrying out the crime, even though he had no involvement in the incident.
Ultimately, the eight other defendants were acquitted after standing trial, while Maslouhi was the only one convicted, based solely on his confession. That conviction came shortly after he was found guilty in another case, which is not the subject of the current request, and for which he had already received a life sentence and an additional seven years. Under the plea agreement, he was given an additional life sentence, to be served concurrently with the first.
Maslouhi’s request for a retrial, submitted by public defenders Moran Carmon and Noa Zeira, argues that several risk factors made him vulnerable to giving a false confession. During the period when investigations into the three unsolved murder cases were underway, he was held for over a year in harsh conditions, including solitary confinement and, according to a court ruling, sexual abuse by an informant, allegedly without his consent.
An Arab from East Jerusalem and a transgender
Maslouhi reported being physically abused by interrogators and held in prolonged isolation. His personal background also made him vulnerable to giving a false confession. He was young, just above the age of minority, and belonged to several marginalized groups: he was an Arab from East Jerusalem, identified as a gay transgender person, and engaged in prostitution for survival. He also had no legal representation during the investigation. These risk factors, combined with the benefits promised and provided by the police, led him to confess to a murder he did not commit.
Since Maslouhi was convicted in a plea deal, his version was never examined by the court. His testimony as a state witness, however, was deemed unreliable and even absurd by the court, which acquitted the other defendants in the Atar case. The retrial request points to these findings and includes additional evidence previously unconsidered, undermining the credibility of his confession.
The request argues that after three decades, “It is time to correct a moral failure: Nine innocent people were prosecuted based on fabricated charges. Only one false conviction remains in place, and this final correction is needed to restore justice."
Three unsolved murders in the early 1990s
In the early 1990s, Israeli police failed to solve three murder cases: In January 1990, jewelry dealer Menashe Atar was shot and killed outside his home in Ra’anana. In April 1992, the body of Avraham Greenberg was found in his Tel Aviv apartment with signs of violence. In August that year, the body of Bella Weinstein, who died by strangulation, was discovered on Tel Baruch beach.
In March 1993, 18-year-old Maslouhi and his 17-year-old partner, Yehia Malihi, were arrested on suspicion of murdering their roommate. During his detention, Maslouhi came into contact with a special Tel Aviv police task force investigating the three murders. Shortly thereafter, police announced all three cases had been solved and filed indictments against nine people. All but Maslouhi denied the charges and were eventually acquitted.
In his request for a retrial, Maslouhi, who has undergone rehabilitation in prison, claimed that his confession to police and in court was false, made while he was in distress during a prolonged detention in harsh solitary conditions, during which he was also sexually assaulted by an informant placed in his cell. The request further argued that Maslouhi, vulnerable and exploited, cooperated with investigators, fabricated stories that matched the material shown to him, and placed his friends and rivals from Tel Aviv’s marginalized communities at the various murder scenes, falsely implicating them.