The Southern District Attorney's Office submitted a precedent-setting request to the District Court in the High Court of Justice, on behalf of the Population and Immigration Authority, to revoke the citizenship of an Israeli citizen, whose citizenship has been proven on the basis of a forged birth certificate.
This is an Israeli citizen, Boris Radko, who immigrated to Israel in 1995 from the Ukraine with his youngest daughter.
Mr. Radko immigrated to Israel in light of his alleged Jewishness under the Law of Return, based on his mother's birth certificate, and accordingly received Israeli citizenship.
At the same time, his daughter was granted status by virtue of being the daughter of a Jew.
About 20 years later, Mr. Radko applied to the Interior Ministry to initiate family reunification proceedings with his wife.
As part of the processing of the application, it became clear that the birth certificate of Mr. Radko's mother, according to which she was Jewish, was forged and that Mr. Radko's citizenship had been obtained on the basis of false documents.
The inspection conducted with the competent authorities in Ukraine revealed that the document attached by Mr. Radko, as part of the aliyah application and on the basis of which he was granted Israeli citizenship - his mother's birth certificate, does not match the official records in the Ukrainian archives.
Pursuant to an amendment to the Citizenship Law, after the lapse of three years from the date of acquisition of citizenship, the power to revoke citizenship on the basis of false details was granted to the District Court.
This is the first application submitted to the court by virtue of the amendment to the law.