IDF reservist charged in PM’s office leak sharing prison cell with Navy soldier convicted of spying for Iran

Ari Rosenfeld, the IDF reservist charged in the Prime Minister’s Office security documents theft and leak scandal, is sharing a prison cell with an Israeli Navy soldier convicted of spying for Iran, Channel 12 reports.

The Navy soldier was sentenced to 33 months in prison for sharing classified information with an Iranian agent, in a case that had not previously been cleared for publication.

The Navy soldier-turned-spy requested to be moved to a cell with Rosenfeld after growing concerned that the reservist would try and harm himself, according to the report, which added that he did so despite the conditions of the shared cell being considerably worse than those of the cell the Navy soldier was previously assigned to.

Channel 12 says that it received a copy of a letter written by Rosenfeld about the imprisoned Navy soldier, in which he expressed appreciation for “moving to those conditions with me, so that I wouldn’t be alone, without the opportunity to cook or watch television.”

“He constantly acted in my best interests even when it was at his own expense,” Rosenfeld wrote.

While Rosenfeld is said to have appreciated the Navy soldier’s decision to share a cell with him, not everyone is, Channel 12 reports, as his lawyer is concerned that her client’s case been made public due to his proximity to Rosenfeld.

Speaking to the news outlet, attorney Hen Meiri says that until recently, “only three judges at the Haifa District Court were exposed to his case,” she says. “It’s not clear why the Israel Prison Service, with criminal negligence, decided to put this prisoner with the most publicized prisoner in the country.”