State witness goes into hiding, slams lousy police protection

A state witness who went missing on Friday contacted his family from a safe house on Saturday evening. Earlier, police were searching for the man, who has helped authorities indict dozens of mob kingpins from Israel’s organized crime syndicates.

People associated with the man, who was not named, said he felt abandoned by the police and the state and claimed that, more than once, security arrangements to protect him were reduced to a minimum even as he complained that he was under pressure.

The man left a parting letter to his family before he disappeared on Friday.

Speaking to Channel 2, in an interview recorded before he went underground, the man said that his life was imminent danger and that he had survived three assassination attempts. The man was interviewed with his back to the camera, wearing a hoodie, and his voice was digitally altered so as to be unrecognizable.

“I’m living on borrowed time, I did this to save my life,” he told Channel 2.

“I came voluntarily to the police because I thought that what they offered was state protection. They are the biggest liars. Criminals have a better [code of ethics] than they do,” he charged.

“I told [the police] from the beginning that if they could not honor their agreement [to protect me] then they should not let me testify against these people. They said it was not just a promise on their part, but on the part of the State of Israel.”

Asaf Dok, an attorney representing the man, told Hebrew site Ynet: “My client has put his own and his family’s life on the line while completely trusting law enforcement authorities, who he saw as responsible for the peace and personal security of himself and his family. After signing the state witness agreement, he realized things were not as he predicted and his life changed radically.”

In March, said Dok, “a written request was sent to different authorities regarding severe security gaps.” Since then, he said, nothing has been done to correct the matter. “Without the cooperation and sacrifice by my client, police would not have enough evidence to indict and convict all those involved. It is sad to see that now the state and its apparatuses decided to turn their back on him,” he said.

Israel Police on Saturday afternoon said in response that “the attempt to tie these or other preposterous claims to a person’s free choice to go into hiding is baseless and for reasons of privacy we are prevented from detailing significant issues relating to the matter. The witness was secure throughout the investigation and testimonies and we must emphasize that the treatment of witnesses, including the person in question, is scrupulous, ordered and adapted to situation assessments conducted all the time.”

The man’s testimony recently brought about the conviction of several suspects who ran a crime syndicate in the south of the country. Some cases with relation to the syndicate are still in court.

According to Ynet, dozens of officers were looking for the man in central Israel. Immediately after receiving word that he had gone missing, police arrived at his home, where they found the house empty while his car was parked outside. On Saturday, the searchers were joined by officers from the Lahav 433 Unit of the Israel Police and by forces specializing in locating missing persons. Police initially feared his life may be in jeopardy.

According to Channel 10, police were searching for him despite the fact that he had contacted his family and said he was in a safe place.

It is not clear how he managed to disappear with the officers in charge of his safety unaware that he went into hiding.