In the criminal prosecution of children and parents' rights activists Lori Shem-Tov and Moti Leybel, Judge Benny Sagi was caught in multiple incidents of fraud and deceit, including attempt to unlawfully conduct a closed doors hearing - serious violation of a fundamental Human Rights -- fair and public hearing.

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In the criminal prosecution of children and parents' rights activists Lori Shem-Tov and Moti Leybel, Judge Benny Sagi was caught in multiple incidents of fraud and deceit, including attempt to unlawfully conduct a closed doors hearing - serious violation of a fundamental Human Rights -- fair and public hearing.

Figure 1. Lori Shem-Tov and Moti Leybel are key activists in protest against corruption of the justice and welfare systems and the unbearably easy removal of children from their parents (particularly poor parents), which created an industry of adoptions and highly paid foster parents. Shem-Tov, Leybel and their former attorney Zvi Zer now face criminal prosecution, which may leave them behind bars for years.

OccupyTLV, May 04 -- An unprecedented incident took place today in the Tel-Aviv District Court today -- the public defied Court Guards' demand to leave the courtroom and eventually secured an open court criminal prosecution hearing for jailed social protest activists Lori Shem-Tov and Moti Leybel, and their former attorney Zvi Zer (prosecuted with them). All three have been detained for almost 2 months.

Media campaign by Israel Police in the days following their arrest, referred to them as an "internet terror group" and claimed that they had engaged in "extortion" (notably missing from Israeli English media editions). [ii] On April 18, 2017, State Prosecution entered the indictment. Media published indictment records, while implying at the same time that the entire care was conducted under seal with a gag order prohibiting its coverage by media...

Shem-Tov and Leybel's primary protest is against corruption of the justice and welfare systems, which permits unbearably easy removal of children from their parents (particularly poor parents), and which generated a highly-paid foster family industry and a market for adoptions. The final incidents, which triggered the arrests, were small street protests near the homes of two judges. [iii] With a growing number of protests being held against justice, welfare and banking system officers in recent years, the State has started arresting and criminally prosecuting activists. [iv]

Open court, or a closed doors hearing?

The case was listed as a normal open court hearing by Judge Benny Sagi of the Tel-Aviv District Court. However, around 10:45, prior to the Judge's entry, Court Guard Matan Rahmani announced a closed doors hearing and demanded that the public -- about 20 supporters and family members -- leave the room. In an unprecedented incident, the public defied the Court Guards arguing that there was no lawful decision in the court file to such effect. Rahmani again demanded that people leave the room, but nobody complied. Finally, Rahmani consulted with the court assistant, there was a phone call to someone, the public stayed in the courtroom, and the hearing was after all conducted in open court.

At the end of the hearing, Rahmani was asked, who instructed him to announce the closed doors hearing. First, Rahmani claimed that he had been instructed by the Prosecutor -- an unreasonable explanation. Shortly afterwards, Mr Shay Shmarel, who introduced himself as the Court Guards Shift Commander, interfered and stated that "information was received of a closed doors hearing". Finally, Shmarel admitted that the false instruction came from Judge Benny Sagi himself.

Fake indictment served on Defendants in jail

Later, during the hearing, Mr Moshe Halevi asked Judge Sagi from the public benches to provide Defendant Lori Shem-Tov a copy of the indictment that was entered in Net-HaMishpat -- case management system of the Court. Halevi had earlier filed a request to the same effect on behalf of Shem-Tov, who is unrepresented and unable to file for herself. Judge Sagi demanded to inspect the papers, and approved their delivery to Shem-Tov. Shem-Tov briefly inspected the papers and immediately stated that they were different than the indictment record, which had been served on her in jail by the Prosecution. Shem-Tov first stated the difference in total page count. Here, Judge Sagi blundered even deeper. He tried to argue, "it is impossible that there are two different indictments", and "difference in page count in itself does not mean that the records are different" (implying differences in formatting). However, the request, which had been earlier filed by Halevi included a table summary of the material differences between the two indictment records" In short, if earlier one could assume that the fraud on the Defendants was perpetrated by the Prosecution alone, conduct of Judge Sagi in open court established him as partner in such conduct. The fake indictment record, which was served on the Defendants was the same which was published by media. It was obviously an invalid, unauthentic court record: It was unsigned, showed neither a court file number nor a "Filed" stamp, among various obvious cardinal defects. Regardless, such records are routinely provided by the State Prosecution to media and used by legal correspondents without doubting their truthfulness"

Difficulties in designating a Defense Counsel

The issue of designating Defense Counsel was again a key issue in today's hearing. In the previous court hearing, representative of the Public Defender's office stated that the Public Defender's office desired not to be involved in this case, due to "the nature of the indictment". Judge Sagi lost his temper, and ordered the Public Defender's office to designate Counsel by today's hearing. However, today, the Public Defender's office again stated that no Counsel had been designated, since they could not find anybody, who agreed to accept the case" Judge Sagi gave the Public Defender's office extension of additional 10 days"

Was Arraignment duly executed?

According to the entries in Case Calendar in Net-HaMishpat, Arraignment was executed on April 18, 2017. However, on that date, the Defendants have not even seen the fake indictment record. The case calendar now has no Arraignment scheduled for a future date, although it is obvious that today was the first time that the Defendants ever saw the authentic indictment record...

Inspection of the evidence

During today's hearing, the Defendants again asked to inspect the Prosecution's evidence against them. The Prosecution discussed with Judge Sagi scanning all such materials, which are voluminous in this case (blog posts, internet publications). However, the Prosecution asked to avoid providing the Defendants certain intelligence materials, based on exclusions provided in the Criminal Procedure Act.

The Israeli Criminal Procedure Act provides that no evidence shall be filed in court, unless Defendants were provided an opportunity to inspect and object to its filing, so that the Court would not be exposed to not permitted materials. Judge Sagi appeared to adhere to the law, by emphasizing that another judge would hear any objections that may be raised by the Defendants.

However, all such transactions should be viewed as a charade. Net-HaMishpat system provides the judges direct links to outside Israel Police investigation files prior to any inspection by the Defendants. It is just another fraudulent feature of the system, which provides judges numerous ways to circumvent the law.

Sealed or not sealed?

The confrontation regarding the attempt to run a closed doors hearing did not happen by chance. Earlier, requests had been filed with Judge Sagi to publish lawful sealing order and a lawful decision to hold closed doors hearings in this case. The requests had been filed since it was obvious that no such lawful records existed, and that Judge Sagi was acting lawlessly, violating the fundamental Human Right for a 'fair and public hearing'. In response to the requests, Judge Sagi issued evasive, invalid decisions, which were not even served on the Requester.

In open court, Judge Sagi blundered again, stating from the bench that until the designation of Defense Counsel is resolved, he would not make any decision regarding a gag order and closed doors hearings. However, at the end of today's hearing, Judge Sagi again implemented sealing on today's hearing protocol in Net-HaMishpat.

Widespread protest against corruption of the justice system

Today's events demonstrate conditions in the Israeli courts today, where judges routinely and deliberately disregard the law and are entirely unaccountable, even for fraud.

The Israeli Social Protest movement started in 2011 in response to unaffordable cost of living and growing poverty. The 2011 large protest wave has subsided, and the Social Protest has evolved into smaller, focused protest groups, which are dedicated to specific issues. The common thread to many or most of these groups today is protest against various aspects of corruption of the justice system. In response, the Israeli justice system is engaged in efforts to criminalize the leaders of such protest groups. The case of Lori Shem-Tov and Moti Leybel is a prime example of such trends. However, as shown here -- the criminal prosecution of social protest leaders often documents corruption of the justice system more clearly than ever.

Today's protest against corruption of the justice system is unheard of in the State's nearly 70 year history.

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Figures 2. Judge Benny Sagi of the Tel-Aviv District Court and State Prosecutors Meyrav Geva and Eliran Galili appear to collude in Fraud Upon the Court. The hallmark of such fraud is entering one version of the indictment in the court file, while serving a materially different one on the Defendants in jail.

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Figure 3. Court Observers' Facebook group announced an "event" for today's court hearing in the criminal prosecution of Shem-Tov and Leybel, specifically because of concerns of violations of their Human and Civil Rights by the Court.

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Figure 4. State of Israel v Shem-Tov, Leybel and Zer (criminal 14615-04-17) -- public access to the entire court file is denied in Net-HaMishpat, case management of the Tel-Aviv District Court, with no lawful sealing order. The pop-up message says: "The user is not permitted to view instant court file". Such fake sealing has become the hallmark in prosecution of protest activists and whistle-blowers.

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Figures 5. State of Israel v Shem-Tov, Leybel and Zer (criminal 14615-04-17) -- two "Post-it Decisions" by Judge Benny Sagi on repeat requests to inspect "lawfully made publication prohibition decree" and "lawfully made decision to conduct closed doors hearing". The April 18, 2017 "Post -it Decision" says: "At this stage, in view of the fact that no defense counsel has been appointed and their responses cannot be obtained, there is no way to review the request. Without addressing the Requester's right for the requested information and inspection of the court file, the Requester is permitted to re-file the request after representation of the Defendants is completed". The April 28, 2017 "Post-it Decision" says: "See my April 18, 2017 decision". In contrast, Israeli law says, "any person is permitted to inspect court decisions, which are not lawfully prohibited for publication". The request was filed in view of the unlawful denial of public access to the court file, and media publications, which purported that a gag order was imposed on the case. The request argued that such vague and ambiguous circumstances raise concerns regarding violations of Defendants' right for fair and public hearing on the one hand, and freedom of expression and freedom of the press on the other hand. The unsigned "Post-it Decisions" have never been served on the Requester, and the court file remains unlawfully sealed, leaving the Requester unaware of the decisions. Service and notice -- a fundamental principle in Due Process - is no longer practiced by Israeli judges in disregard of the law. Purportedly the publication of such records is a criminal offense, and therefore the sources are not listed.

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Figures 6. State of Israel v Shem-Tov, Leybel and Zer (criminal 14615-04-17) -- two versions of the indictment record. Top: First and last page of the 152 page version, which was served on the Defendants in jail and published by media (at the same time that media implied that a gag order was imposed). Bottom: First and last page of the 164 page record, which was entered on April 18, 2017, in Net-HaMishpat -- case management system of the Tel-Aviv District Court - and is unlawfully sealed by the Court. The record, which was served on the Defendants in jail is patently invalid -- unsigned by the prosecutors, shows no court file number, no "Filed" stamp, and is missing the Prosecution's witness list and other critical details.

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Figure 7. State of Israel v Shem-Tov, Leybel and Zer (criminal 14615-04-17) -- April 24, 2017 open court hearing transcript is water-marked "Closed Doors", affecting its sealing in Net-HaMishpat -- public access system of the Court - and purportedly making its publication a criminal offense. The record also misrepresents what took place in open court, particularly regarding compliance with arraignment procedures and reading of the indictment. The combination of unlawful denial of public access to court records and falsification of court records is known for generations as a hallmark of incompetent and/or corrupt courts.

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Figures 8. May 4, 2017 Judge Benny Sagi's court calendar, as posted outside the courtroom on the same date. State of Israel v Shem-Tov et al was listed as a routine open court hearing. However, the judge and court guards falsely tried to force the public out of the courtroom.

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Figures 9. Top: Israel Police, Tel-Aviv District new headquaters on Salame street. Bottom: State of Israel v Leybel (pre-indictment detention 59411-02-17) in the Tel-Aviv Magistrate Court - March 13, 2017 Israel Police response on Suspect Leybel's complaint regarding his detention conditions. The record is an unsigned email by an unnamed "Jaffa Intelligence Officer" documenting the maintenance of a solitary confinement and interrogation facility in the basement of the building. According to Leybel's complaint in open court, he was held in solitary confinement, not permitted even to go out to the yard, housed adjacent to a 24 hours a day firing range with car traffic overhead and lights on 24 hours a day... The record says: "Following up on Suspect Mordechai Leybel claims, who stayed [sic -jz] for 10 days in Yiftah Detention Center for interrogation (pursuant to interrogating unit request, for separation [sic-jz] purposes): " 1. " In Yiftah Detention Center no detainees are normally held overnight, unless in special cases, by senior police commander authorization" 3. " pursuant to Israel Police procedures, detainees are permitted a one hour walk in the yard starting on the 8^th day" 4. " the firing range is active only from 8:00-17:00" " The "Yiftah Detention Center" is an unregistered prison facility. The Israel Police refused to enter a Freedom of Information request, for which filing fees were duly paid, and which asked for the legal foundation for the establishment and operation of "Yiftah Detention Center" and Israel Police procedures for holding people there. [i]

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LINKS

i 2017-03-22 FOIA request on Israel Police, re: "Israel Police Detention Centers"

https://www.scribd.com/document/342735063/

ii2017-03-10 Internet terror -- the bloggers' gang, News2 [Hebrew]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXn98g6EIsc

2017-03-10 The gang that worked at slandering people, News2 [Hebrew]

http://www.mako.co.il/news-israel/local-q1_2017/Article-d445f948799ba51004.htm

iii2016-06-20 US DHS assists in suppression of anti-corruption dissent in Israel, OpEdNews.com

https://www.opednews.com/articles/US-DHS-assists-in-suppress-by-Joseph-Zernik-Department-Of-Homeland-Security_Israel_Judicial-Corruption_Protester-Surveillance-And-Arrests-160620-71.html

2017-03-10 Silverstein, R. Israeli Police Arrest Child Welfare Activists, Attorneys, Charging Them with Terrorism and Sex Crimes Israeli Police Arrest Child Welfare Activists, Attorneys, Charging Them with Terrorism and Sex Crimes

https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2017/03/10/israeli-police-arrest-child-welfare-activists-attorneys-charging-terrorism-sex-crimes/#comment-851919

2017-03-18 [Video] The remedy for Israeli judicial corruption is repression of social protest, OpEdNews.com

https://www.opednews.com/articles/Video-The-remedy-for-Isr-by-Joseph-Zernik-Children-170317-666.html

iv 2014-09-29 ISRAEL: Attorneys from a non-existent law-firm appeared as Public Defenders for whistle-blower Rafi Rotem, OpEdNews.com

https://www.opednews.com/articles/ISRAEL-Attorneys-from-a-n-by-Joseph-Zernik-Israel_Judicial-Corruption_Whistleblowing-140929-463.html

2015-06-28 When it comes to the First Amendment - Israel scores an "F", OpEdNews.com

https://www.opednews.com/articles/When-it-comes-to-the-First-by-Joseph-Zernik-Banking-Fraud_Freedom-Of-The-Press_Israel_Judicial-Corruption-150628-481.html

2017-01-17 ISRAEL: [Video] Arrested for singing in the rain" OpEdNews.com

https://www.opednews.com/articles/ISRAEL--Video-Arrested-f-by-Joseph-Zernik-Government-Corruption_Netanyahu-170117-282.html

2017-02-04 ISRAEL: [Video] Arrested again for singing in the street, OpEdNews.com

https://www.opednews.com/populum/page.php?f=ISRAEL--Video-Arrested-a-by-Joseph-Zernik-Corruption_Netanyahu-170204-843.html

Authors Website: https://www.scribd.com/Human_Rights_Alert

Authors Bio:

Dr Zernik's core research pertains to e-government and its significance for Human Rights and Civil Society.

His work won appreciation in Israel and abroad:
* Prof Uzzi Ornan - "All power to you! I hope that you see your tremendous efforts reach fruition!"
* Attorney Avigdor Feldman - "In my opinion you are doing very important work" thank you for your thorough and persistent work".
* Prof Amnon Shashua, Mobileye Co-founder - "" very important work".
* International experts, as part of anonymous peer-review - "" challenges current concepts in the field".
Four submissions, which he authored on behalf of Human Rights Alert - NGO, were incorporated into UN Human Rights Council Periodic Reports regarding the US or Israel (2010, 2013, 2015, 2018). His research has been presented and published in international academic conferences, including Data Mining (2010), Criminology (2012), E-government (2015, 2017), and were also cited in a textbook on "Machine Learning".
Online updated version: http://www.scribd.com/doc/46421113/