Prosecution Criticized Over Delay in Shin Bet Employee’s Case

What Happened

A Shin Bet employee was a party to a proceeding heard by the Appeals Committee under the Disabled Persons Law at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court. More than a year after the appeal was transferred to the District Attorney’s Office, no written response had yet been filed on its behalf. The complaint alleged that the delay exacerbated the employee’s suffering and serious condition.

Reasons for the Delay

The examination found that the prosecutor did not contact the Compensation Officer on time to obtain the medical file. After the materials were received, the question arose as to whether the employee’s medical examination had been forwarded to an expert on behalf of the state, but the need for supplementary materials became clear only five months later. Finkelstein determined that not enough had been done to expedite the handling of the case; some of the requests for extensions were filed only after the prescribed deadline had passed and without an explanation of the reasons for this.

The Security Clearance Problem

After about a year, it emerged that the case was classified and that the prosecutor handling it did not have the security clearance required to review classified materials. The case was transferred to another prosecutor with the appropriate clearance, and as a result, the seventh request for an extension was filed. The Commissioner described the lack of clearance as a serious deficiency that could impair the proper conduct of the proceeding and compliance with information-security rules.

Conclusions and Steps

The part of the complaint concerning the absence of documentation of attempts to obtain the applicant’s position before filing the requests for extensions was also found justified. In the Commissioner’s assessment, this was contrary to a binding prosecution directive requiring such contacts to be documented for transparency and oversight. He recommended drawing systemic lessons and expediting the handling of the case; the Deputy State Attorney later announced that the directives had been clarified for prosecutors and interns in the Civil Department. The Commission for Complaints Against Prosecutors will continue to monitor implementation of the recommendation.

Latest legal news

• High Court demands reasons for not returning Jalud residents home
• Matador rocket stolen from IDF found near Shfar’am
• Four arrested on suspicion of membership in car-theft ring
• Maccabi Tel Aviv owner challenges sale of Recanati family shares