Madagascar sentences Israeli caught smuggling tortoises to two years
Man stopped with 59 rare reptiles in his suitcase; attorney says crowdfunding campaign to pay legal fees failed but hopes for release on appeal
A Madagascar court sentenced an Israeli man to two years in prison for trying to smuggle dozens of rare tortoises out of the country.
The man, who has not been named in Israeli media, was also fined $400, the Ynet news site reported Monday.
Prosecutors had asked for 10 years in prison and a fine of NIS 100,000, citing what they said is a growing trade in illegally smuggled reptiles that is harming the local environment.
Officals found 59 tortoises in the man’s suitcase in June as he went through security to catch an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Madagascar to Bangkok in Thailand, via a connection in Addis Ababa. From there his final destination was Israel. He has been in custody ever since.
During questioning the man told investigators that he thought it was permitted to take the reptiles from Madagascar to Thailand. Tax authorities said the tortoises were wrapped in cloth and had no food or water. They have since been taken to a marine rescue center.
According to a June tweet from the Monitor Conservation Research Society, they were radiated and spider tortoises.
Removing rare tortoises from Madagascar, which is home to some unique species of animals not found anywhere else in the world, is a serious crime. Each of the tortoises he was found to be carrying is worth about NIS 9,000-200,000 ($2,500- $52,888), according to Ynet.
The man, who claims to be a plumber by trade and is reportedly a resident of Beitar Illit, tried to raise some $270,000 to cover his legal fees and other expenses using crowdfunding. Among those said to have put their names to back the funding drive were senior US figures in the Satmar Hasidic sect; rabbis; IDF reserve general Ehud Shani, who is a former director general of the Defense Ministry; and former Miss Israel Rana Raslan.
The drive had raised 10,918 euros by Monday.
Israeli attorney Mordechai Tzivin was quoted as saying that “lack of funding prevented adequate legal protection. Jews abroad, who usually contribute to ransoming captives, fell asleep.”
“I hope we will succeed in the appeal,” he said
According to the report, the hearing went ahead without the suspect being present because he is being held in a jail three hours away from the courthouse. The Israeli has previously told Tzivin about the difficult conditions he is facing in prison.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has intervened in an effort to improve the conditions of his detention and the man told Tzivin he has been moved four times since he was arrested, Ynet reported earlier this month.
In recent months there have been a number of incidents in which suspects were caught allegedly trying to smuggle rare animals into Israel via Ben Gurion Airport.
