Yonatan Heilo
Photo: Gil Yohanan
State to object to early release of man who killed his rapist
Parole board to discuss early release request of Yonatan Heilo, who killed the man who raped him twice in 2010; President Rivlin lightened Heilo's sentence so he may face parole board, but State Attorney to object to release pending presentation of rehabilitation plan.
The State Attorney's Office (SAO) is expected to oppose the early release of Yonatan Heilo, who killed the man who raped him. Heilo will be meeting the parole board Monday to discuss his request, where the SAO is expected to say that in the absence of a rehabilitation plan he should not be released.
If a plan is presented, the SAO says it will withdraw its objection.
Yonatan Heilo will face a parole board hearing Monday (צילום: נועם מושקוביץ)
President Reuven Rivlin announced in November that he has decided to commute the prison sentence of Heilo, convicted in 2010 for the murder of Yaron Atalin, who it was discovered had raped Heilo.
Rivlin ordered part of Heilo's prison term to be converted to a suspended sentence, to allow him to be eligible for parole.
During Heilo's trial, it was found that he had been raped twice by Atalin, which led to a reduced sentence, of 20 years, in addition to Heilo being ordered to pay Atalin's family damages.
In 2016, the court changed his conviction to manslaughter and reduced his sentence to 12 years. In their ruling, the judges accepted Heilo's claim that he was petrified of Atalin, and that he was suffering from severe distress due to experiencing prolonged and significant abuse.
Rivlin announced a year ago to Heilo—represented by attorney Alon Eizenberg—that he would reconsider his position not to pardon him were Heilo to submit another appeal after a substantial amount of time had passed, allowing the president to take into account the rehabilitation he had underwent during his incarceration.
Heilo's attorney Alon Eizenberg
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked also issued a recommendation to shorten Heilo's sentence, after accepting the Justice Ministry's position, thereby allowing him to present his case before a parole board sooner than planned.
In an interview following his request for a pardon, Heilo said, "I feel I've faced racism from the system. It's clear to me that were I a white man, they would have looked at me differently. They would never have dared speak to a white man who had been raped the way they spoke to me, or to a woman. A man who is raped gets laughed at."
Several dozen MKs signed Heilo's pardon request. His arrest pushed social activists to wage a campaign calling for his release.
