Anat Kamm Wins Bid to Remove 'Treason' Charge From Prison Computers

The Israel Prison Service is not permitted to list Anat Kamm as guilty of "treason" - a crime for which she was not convicted - in its computers, the Central District Court ruled yesterday.

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Kamm is serving a four and a half year prison sentence for stealing classified documents and giving them to Haaretz journalist Uri Blau. Upon entering Neve Tirza Prison, however, she discovered that she was listed in the prison service's computers as having committed "espionage and treason."

She demanded that the listing be changed, but prison officials told her this was impossible, as their antiquated computer system classified her crimes under that heading automatically. She therefore petitioned the court, saying this classification hurt her feelings.

In court, prison service officials reiterated their claim that the listing was impossible to alter, since espionage and treason were defined as a single category on the organization's computers. But, apparently fearing that it was going to lose in court, the service then went ahead and changed Kamm's listing anyway.

Judge Clara Reginiano was scathing in her criticism of the prison service's conduct. "No explanation was given for how the requested change in the old system became possible, contrary to the respondent's original position," she wrote in her verdict.

"Under the circumstances," she added, "it's clear that the correction was made in response to the petition, and that therefore, the petition was justified." She ordered the Prison Service to pay Kamm NIS 2,000 in court costs.