State considers easing Yigal Amir's prison conditions

Possible change is to allow Rabin's assassin to meet with another prisoner once in two weeks; Amir had rejected "coupled segregation."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Yigal Amir evil 248.88 (photo credit: AP)
Yigal Amir evil 248.88
(photo credit: AP)
State prosecutors were examining the possibility of easing the prison conditions of Yigal Amir, late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassin, it was announced on Monday.
Among other conditions being discussed, the prosecutors were considering allowing Amir to meet with another prisoner every two weeks. He has been held in solitary confinement for the past 15 years.
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The proposal was brought by Amir's lawyers in a discussion of his solitary confinement in the Petah Tikva District Court.
In the past, the state had proposed easing his solitary conditions by putting him in a cell with another inmate, although the offer was refused by Amir's lawyers. They argued that such conditions would perpetuate his solitary confinement."
Last month, the Supreme Court denied an appeal filed on behalf Amir requesting that he be moved from solitary confinement.
The decision upheld a Petah Tikva District Court ruling that Amir should remain in solitary confinement for an additional six months. In upholding the lower court's decision, however, the Supreme Court noted that in the future, Amir should be allowed short visits with other prisoners, to hold a prayer minyan, among other reasons.
However, the judges wrote that if Amir abuses such privileges "despite promises and liabilities, ...it will be permissible to terminate [the privileges] immediately."


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