A plea agreement was finalized Wednesday for the case of "impersonating officer" Assaf Shmuelovitz, an Israeli man accused of a series of security offenses for having posed as an IDF officer in the Southern Command.
Shmuelovitz admitted to all the charges in the indictment, claiming, however, that he acted "while not responsible" for his actions at the time, according to Ynet.
As part of the plea agreement and under the recommendations made by Shmuelovitz’s attorney Adi Ritigstein Eisenar and the district psychiatrist, Shmuelovitz will serve his sentence in a psychiatric hospital.
Over several months, Shmuelovitz underwent extensive psychiatric assessments, with a panel of experts concluding that he was not criminally responsible at the time of the offenses, reported Ynet. Prosecutors accepted the findings and welcomed an insanity defense.
Despite this, the defendant had denied these charges and requested a full hearing, arguing that he acted with authorization and "in the interest of national security," according to Ynet's report.
Shmuelovitz was charged with serious espionage, transmitting information, entering a secret location, and obtaining things by fraud under aggravating circumstances.
Case stirred up security system during 'Iron Swords' war
According to the indictment submitted in January 2024 by the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office to the Be’er Sheva District Court, the events began on the morning of October 7th, when Hamas launched its terrorist attack.
Shmuelovitz, who was not called for reserve duty, decided to join IDF operations on his own. He donned a uniform, impersonated an officer with the rank of captain, and arrived at the combat zone.
The indictment describes how Shmuelovitz took advantage of the chaos and operational overload at the Southern Command headquarters in the early days of the war.
It also claims that the defendant gained access to classified information and documented it in various ways, including sharing it with both civilian and military personnel not authorized to view it.