Last update - 00:00 30/05/2007
Felon suspected of ordering murders released to house arrest
The Tel Aviv Magistrate's court yesterday sent Eitan Haya, a felon suspected of ordering five murders in recent years, to house arrest for 15 days. The police requested to the court that it release Haya to his home. Haya's attorney Motti Katz has maintained that police have no evidence against his client, who was arrested two weeks ago. Last week, the State Prosecutor's Office indicted two men suspected of committing murders for Haya.
The two, Sergei Teplitzky and Iliya Khodonov, both former combat soldiers, had no criminal records and had worked as bodyguards for ministers and Knesset members.
Haya, however, has not been indicted.
Police suspect that Haya, 55, belonged to an Israeli crime ring in New York City in the 1980s. According to police, Haya ordered the murder of five rival crime figures from New York after they returned to Israel and settled in the center of the country. Police believe Haya acted on rumors that his rivals had negotiated with U.S. justice authorities after they were arrested in the U.S.
Two of Haya's rivals were assassinated: Nelo Hershko, who was killed while sitting in his house in Bat Yam two years ago, and Ron Fredi-Efraim, who was gunned down in broad daylight in South Tel Aviv four months ago. (Roni Singer-Heruti)
Yoav Sinai, 52, survived the attempt on his life, allegedly ordered by felon Eitan Haya due to a mix-up. But the gunshots shattered his arm and leg, leaving him partly paralyzed.
After his long and painful recovery, he discovered the state would not offer him any special compensation. Sinai was recognized as "a felony victim," but this entitled him only to receive information about the investigation. He will not receive any compensation or rehabilitation from the state, or any special privileges from the National Insurance Institute.
Attorney Dana Pugach, who heads the Noga Center for Victims of Crime at the Kiryat Ono Academic College, told Haaretz that the Knesset has in the past seen numerous bills calling for the compensation of crime victims.
"Any bill that threatened to have financial significance was ultimately nixed," she says. "Many other countries have funds for compensating crime victims, who receive fines the state imposes on convicted felons. These countries have regulated compensation means, but Israel does not."
The nonprofit Families of Murder Victims has been trying to promote legislation instituting compensation of crime victims for many years. "The state recognizes its duty to care for victims of terrorist activity, but not us," the organization says.
Meanwhile, Sinai is considering requesting the state consider his injuries as work related, as he was on his way to work when he was struck by the would-be assassins' bullets. (Roni Singer-Heruti)