Anti-government activist Eyal Yaffe indicted for illegal possession of firearms, ammunition

Anti-government activist Eyal Yaffe, 72, is indicted on charges of the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

According to the indictment, a loaded AK-47 assault rifle was found in Yaffe’s home, along with a sub-machine gun and ammunition for it, 12 ammunition magazines, a stun-grenade, and a tear-gas grenade.

Yaffe was arrested after video footage emerged of him appearing to rub his crotch up against a female Border Police officer from behind as she was bending over to deal with other protesters at an anti government rally at the end of March.

The police discovered the weapons in Yaffe’s home after they raided his residence following the incident.

Yaffe described the video of the incident as “completely fabricated,” while an attorney for him said that the weapons were “family mementos” with “deep sentimental value” that were unconnected to his role as a protest activist, and decried the detention of his client as “political.”

Last week, a lawyer representing Yaffe said the weapon was a memento from his client’s brother, who fell in military service.

“The Kalashnikov rifle found in my client’s warehouse is a valuable family memento from his late brother Amir Yaffe, who fell during his military service. This is an object of deep sentimental value to the family that lost their loved one,” Attorney Gonen Ben Yitzhak representing Yaffe said in a statement.

“The remaining items found, including an old carbine and cartridges, remained in my client’s possession from his long and significant military service as a reserve battalion commander, during which he contributed many years to the security of the country,” the lawyer continued.