Knesset amending bill for early prison release to exclude security prisoners

The Knesset Internal Affairs Committee approved this week the text of a bill aimed at relieving pressure in overcrowded prisons by allowing the early release of certain convicts.

Around 700 criminals are expected to be released when the new government legislation comes into effect on December 20, allowing the prison authority to reduce each sentence automatically.

Whereas currently the prison service can reduce a sentence by a week for each six months served, according to the proposed legislation a six-month sentence will automatically be cut by two weeks. A one-year sentence will be reduced by a month; someone serving 20 years in jail will be entitled to a seven-month reduction.

In the coming days the bill will head to the Knesset plenum for its second and third readings before it can be written into law.

The Israel Prisons Service was forced to plan the release of the 1,000 prisoners due to a High Court ruling that requires each prisoner to have at least 4.5 square meters of personal space, an increase of 50 percent over the previous three square meters.

An original draft of the bill would have also affected security prisoners. The bill has now been altered to exclude them, after media reports noted this would mean some 300 prisoners serving time for terrorism and other security-related crimes would be freed several months early.

However, the bill will include those who were convicted of helping terrorists, Haaretz reported Tuesday. Many of those found guilty of assisting terrorists are convicted of causing death by negligence, but not for security offenses, the report said.