Case of Guy Hasid

Case of Guy Hasid

Or Yehuda, Israel

Convicted sex offender.  He was sentenced to 18 years in prison for trafficking, soliciting, and assaulting women.
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Table of Contents:

2012

1. Human-trafficking suspect: Free me from Turkish jail
     (05/17/2012)
2. 'Turks' charges unlikely to pose extradition danger' (05/29/2012)
   
3. Political fallout with Turkey delays extradition (06/17/2012)
4. Court: Can't make Turkey move suspect to Israeli prison (06/17/2012)
    

2013

1. Turkey Extradites to Israel Europe’s Largest Flesh Trafficker (02/13/2013)
   

Also see:

• Case of Rami Saban

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Human-trafficking suspect: Free me from Turkish jail

By Aviad Glickman

YNET - May 17, 2012 

Israeli linked to massive prostitution ring fears Arab inmates will cause him harm. Attorney: His mental, physical state deteriorating

Guy Hassid, an Israeli imprisoned in Turkey in connection with a human trafficking ring, has asked the State to lift an extradition order against him and work toward releasing him from prison, Ynet reported.

Hassid, who is suspected of belonging to a massive prostitution ring that was headed by Rami Saban, was arrested in Cyprus last July after Israel had issued an extradition warrant against him. The Tel Aviv District court recently convicted Saban of trafficking hundreds of women into Israel for prostitution.

Following his arrest, Hassid was transferred to the custody of Turkey, where he has been held despite the fact that a Turkish court approved his extradition in August.

On Thursday Hassid's attorneys filed an appeal with the Israeli High Court of Justice against the international department at the State Prosecutor's Office. One of the attorneys, Ness Ben-Nathan, said it remains unclear when his client will be extradited to Israel. He said the deteriorating relations between Jerusalem and Ankara may have contributed to the delay in the implementation of the extradition order.

In the appeal, Hassid said he feared his fellow prisoners, who are either Turkish citizens or Arabs, would harm him because he is Israeli. He further claimed that his medical condition was deteriorating and that he was not being given proper medical attention.

Attorney Ben-Nathan said the decision by the Prosecutor's Office not to withdraw the extradition order and work towards putting Hassid on trial in Israel was unreasonable. "His prolonged imprisonment (in Turkey) is irregular and does not coincide with the State's interest to put him on trial in Israel," he claimed.

The attorney said the extradition order must be withdrawn because Hassid has yet to be indicted. He called on the State to work towards releasing his client from the Turkish prison. 

"Hassid's mental and physical condition is constantly deteriorating and he is not receiving proper care in prison," Ben-Nathan said.

The State Prosecutor's Office said, "Hassid has been held in Turkey in accordance with an extradition order issued by the State of Israel in July 2011. In November a Turkish court ruled that Hassid can be extradited, but the extradition process in Turkey - as in many other countries, including Israel - requires the final approval of the political echelon. This approval has not been given as of yet." 

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'Turks' charges unlikely to pose extradition danger'

Jerusalem Post - May 29, 2012 

 

Ayalon says Turkish charges against former IDF commanders for flotilla raid sets dangerous precedent, also for US and NATO.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Tuesday that the Foreign Ministry's legal department is checking the possibility that the four former Israeli military commanders indicted in Turkey for their role in the Mavi Marmara raid could be arrested if they enter countries who have extradition agreements with Turkey.

 

The indictment seeks nine counts of aggravated life imprisonment for former IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, OC Israel Navy V.-Adm. Eliezer Marom, former Military Intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former IAF intelligence head Brig.-Gen. Avishai Levy. Relations between the regional powers deteriorated sharply after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board the ship.

Speaking in an interview with Channel 10, Ayalon said that he was doubtful that the indictments would endanger the freedom of the former Israeli commanders in other countries. "They probably cannot visit Turkey, but I believe they can visit other countries. This seems more of a political step than a legal step," he said.

Ayalon posited that the Turkish move to indict Israeli commanders contradicts international law and international maritime law. "A step like this can set a dangerous precedent, even for the US Armed Forces and NATO forces that also board ships in the middle of the sea suspected of involvement in terror, piracy or shipping illegal cargo," the deputy foreign minister stated, adding that he envisaged heavy political pressure on Turkey to drop the issue.

Ayalon emphasized that much of the information the Foreign Ministry had was based on media reports and the Turkish government had not formally informed Jerusalem of the indictments.

"If these reports are true, we are talking about an unexplainable and bad turn of events. I hope that they will regain their composure, because this behavior serves no one's interests."

Former IDF chief Ashkenazi said Monday in response to the indictments that he hoped common sense would prevail, but added, "If the price of what I did is not being able to visit Turkey - I am willing to pay that price."

Yaakov Katz Contributed to this report.

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Political fallout with Turkey delays extradition
By Yonah Jeremy Bob
Jerusalem Post - June 17, 2012 


Court rejects human-trafficking suspect's request to fast-forward his extradition to Israel from Turkey, complaining of conditions.

The High Court of Justice announced Sunday that it had rejected a petition by a man suspected of human trafficking to pressure the Ministry of Justice to fast-forward its efforts to extradite him from Turkey to Israel.

The Ministry of Justice is seeking to bring the suspect, Guy Hasid, to trial for the alleged crimes of trafficking women for the purpose of prostitution in Israel. But Hasid was demanding that the court compel the Ministry of Justice to act even faster to bring about his extradition.

Hasid fled Israel before authorities could arrest him.

But he was tracked down and arrested in Cyprus after an international arrest warrant was issued by INTERPOL.

From Cyprus he was transferred to Turkey, where he has been held in prison since July 16, 2011.

On August 17, Israel requested Hasid’s extradition from Turkey, in order to try him in Israel. On August 24, a Turkish court, with the agreement of Hasid, ordered his extradition to Israel.

It appears that Hasid would prefer prison conditions and even a trial in Israel over the prison conditions and treatment he is receiving in Turkey.

However, he has not been extradited and remains in Turkey due to the fact that Turkish extradition law, like in Israel and in many other countries, requires final approval of a member of the executive branch before someone is actually extradited.

Although there are reports that the Turkish authorities plan to take up the request in the near future, there is no way of imposing an enforceable deadline on Turkey, and Hasid is concerned that his extradition may continue to be delayed or refused entirely.

The court rejected Hasid’s petition, writing that the Ministry of Justice had done everything in its power to seek his extradition by requesting his extradition within a month of his arrest.

Also, the Turkish courts had promptly handled the matter, showing that the state had not let the case fall off Turkey’s agenda.

The fact that the Turkish executive has delayed hearing the matter for nearly a year is clearly beyond Israel’s control, according to the court.

Moreover, the court said that Hasid lacked standing to ask the court to compel the state to do anything in circumstances where his dilemma was created by his own unlawful actions of fleeing from authorities to another country. Essentially, Hasid could not complain to the state about poor Turkish treatment when he brought about the situation which he is complaining of.

Generally speaking, extradition relations between Turkey and Israel, which at one point were highly coordinated and effective, have been damaged by the ongoing political clashes between Israel and Turkey in recent years, and especially following the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident.

Extradition relations between the two countries have been particularly impacted.

Turkey has requested the extradition of high-ranking commanders in the IDF, its state prosecutor has filed criminal indictments seeking multiple life sentences and it has publicly pressed the issue. Israel has ignored the requests and condemned the indictments, leaving extradition relations in a potential limbo.

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Court: Can't make Turkey move suspect to Israeli prison
By Yonah Bob
Jerusalem Post - June 17, 2012

The High Court of Justice announced Sunday that it had rejected a petition by a man suspected of human trafficking in women to Israel as part of a prostitution ring to pressure the Ministry of Justice to fast-forward its efforts to extradite him from Turkey to Israel.

The Ministry of Justice is seeking to bring the suspect, Guy Hasid, to trial for the alleged crimes of human trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution in Israel.

Hasid fled Israel before authorities could arrest him. But he was tracked down and arrested in Cyprus after an international arrest warrant was issued by INTERPOL.

From Cyprus he was transferred to Turkey, where he has been held in prison since July 16, 2011. It appears that Hasid would prefer prison conditions and even a trial in Israel than the prison conditions and treatment he is receiving in Turkey.

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Turkey Extradites to Israel Europe’s Largest Flesh Trafficker
Hasid was in hiding for three years in the Turkish district of Cyprus.
Jewish Press - February 13, 2013

Guy Hasid's partner in crime Rami Saban received 18 years for trafficking, soliciting, and abusing women.

Three years after the crisis in the Turkey-Israel relationship, following the IDF takeover of the Mavi Marmara flotilla, Wednesday morning revealed a dramatic example of cooperation between Turkey and Israel. In a rare gesture of cooperation, the Turks complied with Israel’s request to extradite Guy Hasid, 35, from the town of Or Yehuda, one of the largest traffickers in human flesh in Europe and Israel, Maariv reports.

Hasid’s partner in crime, Rami Saban, is serving a sentence of 18 years in prison after being convicted of trafficking in women.

Hasid was in hiding for three years in the Turkish district of Cyprus, where he was arrested a year and a half ago by the Turks at the request of the Israeli Police, and taken to a prison in Ankara.

The extradition procedure took more than a year, until on Tuesday night Hasid was put on a plane, accompanied by the Central Unit Tel Aviv cops, and flown to Israel. The plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport where the extradition proceedings were completed, and in the afternoon the police is expected to request his remand to a detention center.

The investigation of Hasid is being conducted jointly by four different police departments around the world: Israel, Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus. Saban and Hasid are considered the largest traffickers in Europe and among the largest in the world. The Russians claim that the two are responsible for trafficking in 10,000 women.

The Russians submitted to the Israeli police testimonies filed by 150 women who were traded by the two men for the purpose of prostitution. The Tel Aviv police managed to collect another 40 testimonies of women who had been imported by the two men for prostitution.

“They were solely responsible for smuggling women into Israel through the Egyptian border during the ’90s and 2000s,” said Superintendent Eddie Pliner, head of the Russian desk at the Central Unit, Tel Aviv.

According to police, Guy Hasid ran one of Europe’s largest brothels, which he operated under the guise of a strip club in Turkish Cyprus. There is where he shipped dozens of women from the former Soviet Union for prostitution.

“Israeli law allows us to make arrests of criminals who have trafficked in women and used them for prostitution even outside the country,” a senior Central Unit, Tel Aviv, officer told Maariv. “On that basis, we asked the Turkish police for assistance and extradition. The Turks understood well what was involved, and the scope of this man’s criminal activities, and agreed to cooperate with us and make the extradition.”

Two years ago, Rami Saban was convicted in the District Court in Tel Aviv and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Police plan to introduce in the Hasid case most of the evidence that was presented in the Saban case.

In the past, the two men were associated with a suspicion that they imported two professional assassins from Belarus to Israel via Egypt, to take out several key Israeli crime figures.

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