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Public Defender Seeks Court Order to Block Prison Service Video of Murder Suspect
By Drooid · · How we work
Court Petition to Halt Prison Footage Release
The Public Defender’s Office filed a petition with the Tel Aviv District Court, sitting as a Court for Administrative Affairs, requesting an urgent injunction to stop the Israel Prison Service (IPS) from publishing additional video of Agam Tsarafi, a 19-year-old charged with the murder of her former boyfriend, Benyahu Razi. The petition follows the circulation of a clip showing Tsarafi handcuffed and bent forward while masked officers escorted her through a detention facility. Public defender Roi Politi argued that the footage humiliates a defendant who has not been convicted and could jeopardize her right to a fair trial. He asked the court to identify who authorized the release, to order IPS to cease publishing any further footage or unattributed comments, and to hold a hearing on the matter promptly. A hearing was set for Friday at 10 a.m.
Legal Context and Charges
Razi, also 19, was fatally stabbed in a Jerusalem apartment in July. Prosecutors allege that after a dispute, Tsarafi and Shilat Huta coordinated an attack on him by four minors. Tsarafi, Huta, and the four minors face intentional murder charges. Linor Sasson, the mother of one of the minors, is charged with assisting after the killing and obstructing the investigation. Politi also challenged Tsarafi’s detention conditions, noting she is being held separately from other detainees, barred from visits and most phone calls, and that her conditions are slated for review on October 1. The court had previously given IPS until September 23 to respond to the earlier request.
Official Positions
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir defended IPS’s handling of Tsarafi, stating that her transfer to the Abu Kabir detention facility was lawful and that she had disrupted order and mistreated other inmates and staff. Judge Eli Abravanel, presiding over the Jerusalem District Court hearing on the criminal charges, indicated that the procedural complaints about the video were not appropriate for that forum and redirected the focus to the defendants’ response to the charges.
Upcoming Judicial Review
The Tel Aviv District Court will consider Politi’s petition at the scheduled Friday hearing. The outcome will determine whether IPS must cease releasing any further visual material of Tsarafi pending the resolution of her murder case and the upcoming review of her detention conditions on October 1.
