Ugly Betty gets 4.5 years in jail
Anat Kam, who stole between 700 and 2,000 confidential documents from the IDF, and turned them over to Haaretz reporter Uri Blau, was sentenced to 4.5 years in jail on Sunday morning, plus an additional year and a half of probation. The nearly two years she has spent under house arrest will not count toward her sentence. That's still less than the 15 years the prosecution had demanded.Kam had reached a plea bargain with prosecutors (pursuant to which she could not receive a life sentence for intentionally endangering state security), but her attorneys could not agree on a sentence with prosecutors. She was also the target of some scathing criticism from the judges.
According to Tel Aviv District Court judges, "If the IDF would not be able to fully trust its soldiers, it would not be able to function as an army."What Kam stole had serious military value.
The court continued in its criticism of Kam, saying, "The passing on of the documents while violating basic duties constitutes a violation of the most severe criminal norms. An IDF soldier is expected to carry out his duty out of a sense of loyalty to the country. Kam disgracefully exploited this trust."
The documents stolen by Kam contained plans of military operations, summaries of discussions within the IDF, deployment and order of battle (ORBAT) of IDF forces, summaries of internal IDF inquiries, IDF situation estimates, IDF targets and more.Kam spent nearly two years under house arrest, and had to be accompanied on bathroom breaks during the trial.
But Israel Radio reports that many Israelis consider the sentence too light, and are complaining that there is one rule for Tel Aviv and another for others.
In March, the Justice Ministry reported that it intends to put Uri Blau, who has since returned to Israel after hiding out in London, on trial for charges arising from the Kam affair (link in Hebrew). Israel Radio reports that a hearing was held to allow Blau to be heard before a decision to try him is finally made, and a decision from the State's Attorney has yet to be received.
Labels: Anat Kam, Israeli national security, Operation Cast Lead, treason, Uri Blau
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:47 AM
3 Comments:
Treason is not punished very harshly in Israel. Anat Kamm got off with the judicial equivalent of a slap on the wrist.
Then again, the Israeli courts are a sad joke.
Treason should be the most serious criminal offence in Israel, above murder because it will inevitably lead to many deaths. This kapo is an anti-Israel terrorist.
Free Pollard!
Oh, wrong thread. Never mind.
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