Court rejects 'early' parole for 93 yr-old who burned daughter to death

Lod District Court rejects parole for Havshi Hasan, who burned his daughter while she was pregnant to "preserve he family's honor."

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
New Lod District Court 370 (photo credit: Yonah Jeremy Bob)
New Lod District Court 370
(photo credit: Yonah Jeremy Bob)
The Lod District Court, sitting as an Administrative Court, on Sunday rejected early parole for 93-year-old Havshi Hasan, upholding the decision of the Parole Board regarding Hasan’s sentence for burning his daughter to death.
Hasan burned his daughter while she was pregnant to “preserve the family’s honor.”
He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder, but his sentence was later commuted by the president to 25 years.
Sentenced at the age of 70, Hasan made repeated applications for parole, believing he could achieve an early release having served most of his sentence.
Hasan has spent 20 months in the Israel Prisons Service (IPS) hospital for various illnesses, many stemming from his age.
Hasan won an initial battle in February 2011 before the Supreme Court which ordered the IPS to give Hasan access to Arabic-speaking professionals who could help him with rehabilitation, provide him with a psychological evaluation and assistance with his case in general.
A commission of medical professionals to evaluate Hasan told the Parole Board that he should be released on the basis that he had expressed regret for his crimes, undertaken rehabilitative therapy and had worked cooperatively with IPS and other prisoners throughout his sentence.
The commission also noted that as of November 4, 2012, Hasan’s family volunteered to take him back and to allow him to live with them.
Further, the commission said that both because of his psychological change and advanced age, he was no longer a threat to anyone.
Despite the recommendation, the Parole Board said that Hasan had not undergone a “fundamental change” as required by a 2001 law governing the issue of early parole.
In rejecting the commission’s recommendations, the Parole Board said that it had taken an objective view of Hasan’s health along with the law’s requirements, whereas the commission had taken a subjective and more sympathetic view.
The Parole Board also noted that the commission had raised questions about Hasan’s motivations and whether he was truly rehabilitated, eventually incorrectly deciding to override these issues, which were decisive for the Parole Board, by deciding that his advanced age and health issues meant he was not dangerous in any case.
Hasan’s last parole request was rejected on January 13, 2013.
The court said the Parole Board took into account all the proper issues and that its conclusions, not the commission, were justified, despite Hasan’s age.