Judiciary: March 7, 2013
Judge Eliahu Bitan of the Be’er Sheva District Court ruled that Simon Waledo, an Eritrean migrant laborer currently being held in Saharonim Prison, cannot be released on humanitarian grounds just because he was tortured before crossing the border. The judge said that since torture of asylum seekers in Sinai is widespare, it does not qualify as an “exceptional humanitarian reason.” He further added that accepting the appeal would encourage illegal immigrants to inflict wounds upon themselves in a bid to be allowed to stay in the country.
