Judge to the Attorney General's Office: "Reach a settlement with Feiner and Lupoliansky. They are sick""

April 29, 2014   

Tel Aviv District Court Judge David Rosen asked the State Attorney's Office to remove Uri Lupoliansky and Avraham Feiner from the punishment range it proposed for the other suspects - and to reach an agreement with them. The judge noted that even if there is no agreement - the punishment will be very light and will be similar to that which would be reached by agreement. According to the judge, he tends to intervene in the punishment ranges in the case of the two, both due to the fact that they did not take money into their personal pockets, and also due to their health condition. "It is very difficult for me to say: a medical condition is not a refuge, there is a hospital in Ramla. The question is whether we as a system can seal ourselves off. There are limits." Removing the two from the list of defendants will prevent complaints about their preferential treatment. "There is bribery here, there is corruption here, it is atrocity. There was a payoff. I am not giving up for a second. I am not backing down. But they are unhealthy people and they did not take money into their pockets, nor into their children's pockets, nor into their grandmother's pocket," added Judge Rosen. "If you agreed with Zaken - and I'm not sure I accept it yet, what she gave to the case here, is that it could have lasted less - then you can't here? Do you want to see Feiner in prison? We're just lawmen and that's all? There has to be humanity in the system," the judge said. Rosen emphasized that even without the two's medical condition, the punishment would deviate from the scope, all the more so - in light of the medical condition. The representative of the prosecution replied that if Lupolianski and Feiner were to take the blame - the requested scope would be double. Rosen replied: "I have no complaints against you, but I can't live with it. You got almost everything you asked for. You are allowed to be generous and merciful to sick people who ultimately committed a crime, but didn't take the blame." The prosecutor promised that the state would consider the judge's request. During today's hearing, Feiner expressed regret and sorrow and emphasized that at the time of the act he was not at all aware that he had committed a crime. "Now, after this came up in court and I understand that a crime was committed, I express my regret and apologize for what happened.".