IDF Intelligence officer died in prison, Another ‘Prisoner X' ?

The family of an Israeli Military Intelligence officer who died in custody last month appealed Sunday morning to the martial court in the IDF headquarter in Tel Aviv, demanding to review the details of the indictment against him, which was dropped after his death.

The request was forwarded to the court ahead of a hearing to be held on Tuesday by the request of  media outlets to publish the full details of the case.

Media outlets have appealed the decision to ban any reporting on the circumstances of the officer's arrest last September, the charges against him and the circumstances of his death. 

The request will be considered as part of a hearing on Tuesday whether to publish the full details of the case.

"We must be allowed to review all the materials related to our son," an appeal submitted to the martial court by the family attorney read. "We should know the details that led to our son's death from the beginning of the affair to its sad end. There is a direct connection between the charges attributed to our son and his tragic death."

The sweeping gag order issued on the affair left the parents in the fog from its beginning for many months until the unfortunate death of their son," the family lawyer said. "The considerations that stand in the way, regarding the preservation of the integrity of the death investigation and its results, are invalidated in the context of this request, since knowing the charges that led to the arrest of their deceased son does not affect the investigation that is currently underway."

Depending on their decision, the family members are expected to decide whether to join the request to allow the publication of the affair or at least to support its publication.

The officer's parents, who come from a normative family and have a significant information security background, have so far maintained maximum restraint and a low profile. IDF representatives in their son's unit in the intelligence division have not visited the parents and so far have kept their distance from them.

The IDF is expected to publish the results of the investigation into the circumstances of the officer's death once it is concluded and after they are brought to the family's attention. Legal action might be taken against officials at the military prison that were entrusted with the life of the deceased officer as a prisoner in the supervised penitentiary.

Sources who knew the officer's relatives said that the family was mainly disappointed with their son's commanders and fellow unit members, who did not keep in touch with him or the family since his arrest and especially after his death.

"I do not know any details about what was attributed to him," said a man who knows the officer's family. "They are very scared to talk and are being threatened not to do it. There are very powerful systems involved here and the fear is understandable."

The officer, who served in the Intelligence Division, was arrested in September 2020 after a Military Police investigation. After being questioned in his unit, the Military Prosecution filed an indictment against him in a martial court and he was detained until the end of the legal proceedings against him.

On the night of May 16-17, he was found in serious medical condition and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Military sources have recently estimated that the officer may have committed suicide, but his family claimed that he did not take his own life. Investigators are awaiting the final autopsy results.

The officer's father dismissed the allegations last week, calling them "false."

The IDF claims that the officer was buried in a civilian plot and not in a military one since he had completed his military service during his detention.

The head of the martial appeals court said last Thursday that "the officer was not charged with espionage or treason, nor was he in contact with a foreign agent and was not activated by one."