17/4/05
Brigadier General Haim Szmulewitz
Legal Counsel for the Israel Prison Service
Ramla
Re: The marriage of prisoner Yigal Amir
We are writing to you with an urgent request to instruct the appropriate staff of the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to permit Mr. Yigal Amir and Ms. Larisa Trembovler to realize their basic right to hold a wedding ceremony within the prison complex.
The right to marry and found a family is a basic right that is extended to all mature adults (see: Article 16 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 2(23) of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)). In the case of Ploni v. The State Attorney, the court recognized the right to marry as an intrinsic element of the right of every individual to dignity that is protected by the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. The inherent power of the right [to marry] and the strength which radiates from within it, obligate, in and of themselves, state authorities to consider them with great seriousness (HCJ 97/3648 Satimka v. The Minister of the Interior).
The right to marry is also a prisoner’s right. The basic right enshrined in Israeli law, states that human rights to not end at the gates of the prison, and that “the walls of the prison do not separate the detainee from human dignity” (HCJ 79/355 Katlan v. Israel Prison Service). This ingrained law guarantees that an individual’s human rights “endure” within the prison walls, and are applicable to a prisoner (or detainee) even within his/her cell (Golan v. Israel Prison Service 94/4463). The punishment of detention infringes the prisoner’s right to free movement, however, “the guiding principle is that the prisoner’s basket of human rights includes all rights and liberties that are extended to any citizen or resident, with the exception of freedom of movement which is by definition negated by detention itself”.
Yigal Amir is also entitled to this basket of rights. One must remember that even the draft bill, that attempted to prohibit prisoners serving a life-term to marry before the completion of their sentence, that was brought before the Knesset as a result of the publication of Yigal Amir’s request to marry, was rejected by a sweeping majority due to its severe violation of a prisoner’s rights, and the prohibition on retroactive punishment.
The Israel Prison Service’s (IPS) handling of Mr. Amir and Ms. Trembovler’s request to marry – from the commissioner’s highly publicized statement that he would reject any request even before it was submitted, to the Israel Prison Service’s policy of deliberately avoiding the presentation of a clear position on the issue for over a year – are tainted by a hidden agenda and irrationality, that render the decision illegal. The Israel Prison Service’s refusal to permit the marriage ceremony to take place even violates IPS rules and regulations. We have no knowledge of any other case in which the IPS deprived a prisoner of the right to hold a marriage ceremony within the prison complex.
As published statements reveal, the IPS does not intend to consider the couple`s request to marry. This uncompromising position was undertaken without any deliberation of the judicial considerations. Already on 19.1.2004 the IPS published the following statement on their website: “The Israel Prison Service (IPS) Commissioner, Yaacov Granot held a special meeting this morning to deliberate on the subject of the marriage of Yigal Amir, who murdered the former Prime Minister, despite the fact that an official request is yet to be registered. The Commissioner rejects the request by Yigal Amir to marry within the prison complex. The Commissioner has instructed the legal department to be prepared to defend his decision in court. When the request is submitted the issue will be discussed in consultation with both the judicial authorities and representatives of the IPS”. The following day a further statement appeared in the press stating that the Commissioner’s decision “had been taken before a formal request had been submitted by the prisoner and in contravention of the unequivocal legal opinion of the organization’s Legal Counsel Brigadier General Haim Szmulewitz” (“IPS Commissioner: I will prevent the marriage of Yigal Amir in prison”, Haaretz 20.1.04). Thus the couple was not only denied absolutely the right to marry, but they were also denied the right to a fair hearing of their request, which further undermined the professional independence of the IPS Legal Counsel.
Mr. Amir has subsequently formally informed the IPS that he and his partner are insisting on the right to hold the marriage ceremony despite the Supreme Court ruling on the issue of conjugal visits. It should be emphasized that the “messenger service wedding” undertaken by the couple does not in any way subtract from their right to hold a marriage ceremony. The couple had no choice but to marry in this way after they were denied, in contravention of the law, the basic right to marry in the conventional manner. Even if the Rabbinical Court recognizes the “messenger service wedding”, this does not subtract from the importance of holding a traditional marriage ceremony during which the couple will exchange vows under a chuppa (traditional Jewish wedding canopy) in the presence of family and friends.
In light of that set forth above, we respectfully request that an immediate instruction be issued to the relevant IPS officials to permit Mr. Yigal Amir and Ms. Trembovler to hold a traditional marriage ceremony within the prison complex on an agreed date. We would also like to receive a copy of the procedural policy governing the marriage of prisoners in prison.
Respectfully,
Attorney Lila Margalit
Attorney Oded Feller
last updated : 19/05/05
