The Israel Prison Services have made an irregular decision to change the handcuffing procedure of Yigal Amir, the murderer of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
According to a report published by Ynet, under the new decision Amir will now also be shackled at his feet during his time in prison, in addition to the security and monitoring measures imposed on him.
Amir has been serving a life sentence since the assassination of Rabin in 1995. Over the years, he has been classified as a security prisoner and held under special incarceration conditions. At the beginning of his sentence, he was held in Ayalon Prison in a dedicated wing established for him, under constant surveillance by security cameras.
For years, his isolation was periodically extended on the grounds that he posed a security risk due to his ideological views. He was later transferred between different prison facilities, and in 2012 he was moved to an open cell with other prisoners in a closed wing following judicial decisions and petitions he filed.
During his years in prison, Amir has filed several petitions against his conditions of detention. Among other things, he demanded the removal of cameras from his cell, the ability to make phone calls under conditions similar to other prisoners, and expanded contact with outside parties. Some of his petitions were partially accepted, but various restrictions have remained in place for security reasons.
In 2001, the Parole Law was amended, stipulating that the parole board would not recommend commuting the sentence of anyone convicted of a politically or ideologically motivated murder of a prime minister. This effectively denied the possibility of reducing his sentence through the regular commutation process.
The new decision by the Israel Prison Service adds to a series of special security and supervision measures that have been implemented over the years in his case.