Prison guard accused of having affair with inmate, smuggling drugs
Nitzan Raz, 24, cracked during her interrogation and confessed to falling in love with an inmate named Abu Gali, 30, a resident of Jaffa.
By TOBIAS SIEGALPalestinian prisoners wait to be released from Ketziot prison, southern Israel, October 1, 2007(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
A prison guard at the Hadarim prison in central Israel was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly having an affair with an inmate and smuggling 104 grams of hashish and other controlled substances into the prison, Walla reported. Nitzan Raz, 24, from the city of Harish, enlisted into the Prison Service during her mandatory military service in 2015. After completing her service, she decided to remain a prison guard and was assigned to the Hadarim prison.She probably didn't expect that five years after starting her career, she'd be suspected of taking bribery, conspiracy to commit a crime, fraud, breach of trust and drug trafficking. Raz's investigation is being carried out by the national unit for interrogating prison guards at Lahav 433, the police unit tasked with investigating cases of national crimes and corruption.According to Walla, Raz cracked during her interrogation and confessed to falling in love with an inmate named Abu Gali, 30, a resident of Jaffa. She also confessed to smuggling a cake to another inmate, Lior Gelem, but said she didn't know about the drugs hidden inside it and that she received it from a messenger.Raz also confessed to passing on several prohibited products like chocolate and deodorant to Gali's cell on different occasions, in violation of the Prison Service's policy.Gali is serving time for charges including arms dealing and drug-related offenses. Gelem was incarcerated following an attempted murder. "Investigation is underway and while it is still in its first stages, serious findings are being made that strengthen the suspicions against the defendant," a source involved in the investigation told Walla. "In the following days other people involved are expected to be interrogated," he added.Raz's arrest, as well as the arrests of the two inmates, was extended on Thursday morning by six days.The prison guard's partner was reportedly oblivious to the whole thing, and was only made aware of the accusations against Raz when he appeared at the Rishon Lezion District Court on Thursday.
Attorney Michael Siboni, who represented Raz in court earlier today, stated that his client cooperated during her interrogation and gave a full and detailed testimony. "Regarding the cake, she claims that she was manipulated; [she] didn't know what was in it."Gali's attorneys, Gilad Menashe and Nadav Almog, issued a statement saying that "our client denies all accusations against him, both about the conspiracy for smuggling drugs and about the existence of a romantic relationship with the prison guard. We're sad to see that the investigating unit chooses to base its claims on rumors and not on actual evidence."
