State Prosecutor Amit Aisman has ordered a new investigation into allegations that a prison intelligence officer Rani Basha essentially pimped a female warden to a jailed terrorist.
Following the State Prosecutor decision Prison Service Commissioner Katy Perry announced Wednesday that the officer has been deposed from his position. Basha is expected to be questioned by police before Aisman decided whether to reopen the case.
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The warden accused the officer of transferring her to that wing of Gilboa Prison at Mahmoud Atallah’s request and said Atallah then sexually assaulted her. Other wardens who served in that wing from 2015 to 2017 told police that the officer knew Atallah was sexually harassing female wardens, but continued assigning female officers there at his request.
Atallah was indicted on charges of sexually harassing three wardens, and the first victim is slated to testify in his trial next week. But the case against Basha was closed due to lack of evidence. The new investigation will probe him on suspicions of breach of trust, exploitation and failing to prevent a crime.
The allegations against Basha were first reported by Channel 20 television in 2018, sparking the initial investigation. At that time, Basha told police the female warden was stationed in the wing to gather intelligence.
But last month, while testifying to a governmental inquiry commission into a September jailbreak at Gilboa Prison, prison commander Freddy Ben-Sheetrit brought the issue back to public attention when he said that women doing their compulsory military service at the prison had been “pimped.” When questioned by the police last week, he said this information came from documents that reached the Prison Service only after the initial investigation had ended.
Although no criminal charges were filed, the Prison Service did institute disciplinary proceedings against Basha. It concluded that he hadn’t reported the assault to his superiors and that, contrary to his claims, there was no evidence that he warned Atallah not to touch the female wardens. Consequently, he was transferred to a different Prison Service job. The service is now considering firing him.
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Basha’s attorney, Eyal Besserglick, said, “The case was thoroughly investigated and closed. There’s no basis for the new wave of rumors, which is driven by interested parties.”
Attorney Keren Barak, representing the three victims, said she was stunned that her clients first heard of the probe being reopened from the media and termed this “additional proof of the system’s flawed handling of their case.
“I hope that this time, the investigating unit will collect testimony and not be afraid to investigate in depth and uncover the facts of this painful affair, so that this time, the prosecution will be able to make the right decision and file indictments,” she added. “This is a chance to correct the mistakes made in 2018 and restore both the wardens’ and the public’s faith in the system.”
