Israel Seeks 12-year Jail Term for Blogger Accused of Slandering Public Officials
The exceptional indictment contains 120 accusations against Lori Shem-Tov and others; the prosecutors apparently see this as a test case for online shaming
Israel’s state prosecutor is seeking a 12-year prison sentence for blogger Lori Shem-Tov, who is accused of crimes including invasion of privacy and insulting civil servants, among them judges, in online publications.
At one meeting that Shem-Tov’s attorney held to discuss a plea bargain with Tel Aviv District Attorney officials, prosecutors reportedly insisted that she serve at least 10 years in prison. The district attorney’s office denied that report.
The indictment filed in April 2017 against Shem-Tov, along with fellow blogger Moti Leybel and attorney Zvi Zer, is unusual in scope. Covering 231 pages, it includes 120 accusations concerning internet activity. The three are accused of serious offenses of conspiracy to commit various crimes against social welfare, law enforcement and judicial officials; invasion of privacy; sexual harassment; insulting a civil servant; contempt of court; and violating gag orders relating to publicizing the names and images of minors.
Shem-Tov and Leybel are also accused of blackmailing a private lawyer to cut a deal with them, and threatened her that they would continue defaming her if she wouldn’t oblige them.
A Haaretz inquiry revealed that the punishment the prosecution seeks is far more severe than in similar cases in the past. Whistleblower Rafi Rotem, who sought to reveal corruption in the Israel Tax Authority, received a suspended sentence after being convicted of 20 counts of harassing 14 complainants over many years, and 15 counts of insulting a civil servant.
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A test case
In the new case involving Shem-Tov and her codefendants, the indictment accuses them of seeking “to harass and invade the privacy” of officials involved in custody battles. Over two years ago, Shem-Tov first targeted Judge Naftali Shilo, former head of the Tel Aviv Family Law Court, who was since promoted to the district court level, after he deprived her of custody of her children despite positive assessments of her that were presented to him. She published articles attacking his behavior and that of social workers dealing with her case.
Although her alleged offenses border on freedom of expression and are considered less than criminal in substance, the state prosecution filed its indictment in district court and not in a magistrate’s court, where the maximum sentence is seven years.
The prosecutors apparently see this as a test case to augment punishment for online shaming. They also sought to keep the accused in custody until the end of proceedings, which until now has been a policy reserved for suspects who pose a danger to public safety.
Just last month the court ordered the release of Shem-Tov, who was arrested in February 2017, after she served 27 months in jail. Leybel and Zer were released after being incarcerated for nine months.
District Court Judge Benny Sagi slapped a gag order on the names of all the complainants in the Shem-Tov case, at the request of the state prosecutor. Some 20 witnesses have testified behind closed doors to date. Shem-Tov had also argued about the way the public defender’s office has represented her, and Judge Sagi discharged her defenders of their duties last week. She is now representing herself and Zer.
The prosecution commented, “The figures mentioned here were not provided by the prosecution. Moreover, we cannot comment on negotiations with defense lawyers.”