Israel's Public Defender warns of deepening prison crisis, expanded police powers

Israel's Public Defender's Office has warned of a deepening prison crisis and a significant expansion of police and enforcement powers in its 2025 annual report. The office, which marked its 30th anniversary, highlighted key legal developments, including a High Court ruling that prohibits police from searching suspects' phones based solely on consent, requiring judicial orders instead.

The report detailed 31,677 criminal cases represented by the office in 2025, with the prosecution withdrawing 1,273 indictments, about 8.7% of concluded cases. A significant victory came in August 2025 when the High Court accepted the Public Defender's petition against a police practice and prosecutorial directive allowing consent-based phone searches. The court emphasized that judicial orders are crucial for ensuring external review of search necessity and scope, preventing excessive privacy invasion.

Among the cases detailed was that of Jamil Sarur, who was granted a retrial in May 2025 after serving 15 years for murder. His conviction, linked to a clan dispute, was based on testimony from a rival family. New affidavits suggested the conviction's factual basis was flawed, with witnesses allegedly coordinating accounts to implicate Sarur and conceal the true shooter. Justice Dafna Barak-Erez found the new evidence warranted a retrial, leading to Sarur's release. However, the prosecution later filed a manslaughter indictment against him in January.

Another case concluded with an acquittal. In February 2025, Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg granted Sufian Maslouhi a retrial and ordered his acquittal for murder.

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The court stressed that a judicial order was not a technical requirement but a substantive mechanism intended to ensure that an external authority examines the need for a search – and limits its scope – so that the invasion of privacy does not exceed what is necessary.