Tel Aviv District Court Judge Yossi Topf today (Tuesday) sentenced Ben Moshe Tzruinsky to eight years in prison and six years in prison, who were convicted of, among other things, aggravated extortion, arson and sabotage.
This was after they set fire to the apartment of a man who owed them about NIS 7,000, while his three younger brothers stayed in the apartment alone.
In addition, the defendants were fined, given a suspended sentence and compensation to the three minors in the cumulative amount of NIS 135,000.
According to the indictment filed against the two, Kostika was engaged in providing loans.
At an unknown date, the debtor bears a loan and a debt of NIS 7,000 remains to be owed to Kostika.
After the debtor did not pay his debt, Kositka came to the debtor's house equipped with a hammer.
At that time, the debtor's mother and her spouse were at home, who argued before him that the debtor was not at home and asked him to leave.
Despite the above, Kostika started hitting the door of the house with a hammer, in order to motivate the debtor to pay his debt and stop talking about it.
Since even after the incident in question the debt was not paid, Kostika and Tsruinsky decided to set fire to the apartment where the debtor lived.
While the debtor's three younger brothers (aged 6, 12 and 13) were alone in the apartment, the two arrived wearing helmets on their heads, and began to kick and slam the door hard.
The debtor's 13-year-old sister went to the door and explained to them that the debtor did not live with them and that she was a child, and that she did not have a key to the apartment.
The two were sentenced to several years in prison (illustration), Photo: Yehoshua Yosef
In response, the two poured gasoline on the door and the entrance carpet to the house, which was partly inside the apartment, and set fire to the apartment door.
The fire that gripped the door penetrated into the apartment, igniting the nurse's shoes.
As the door caught fire, the minors fled to the laundry room and jumped out of the apartment window, while the 13-year-old girl carried her 6-year-old brother on her back.
As part of the arguments for punishment, the prosecutor's office representatives emphasized that the offenses were committed against the background of a debt of NIS 7,000 or against the background of "dirt" on the part of the complainant, and the debtor was not the debtor himself or his adult relatives.
It was further argued that harming children constitutes crossing a red line, particularly through fire, which is one of the most brutal and difficult-to-control weapons.
It was also alleged that the lighting of a match and the pouring of burning liquid were the ones who started the incident, but it is not possible to predict what the end will be, because the fire cannot be controlled. It was argued that in this case the spread of the fire did not interest the defendants, who left the place without doing anything to minimize the damage, in particular paying attention to the fact that they knew they were in a juvenile house. "As for the damage that was expected to be caused by the act of offense, it was argued that the acts of the defendants could have led to the cruel deaths of the children, and that this was a case that he stepped from attempted murder," the prosecutor's office said.
In sentencing, Judge Topf ruled that the offense of extortion, which is often accompanied by threats or damage to property, characterizes the behavior of the underworld, harms the foundations of social order and requires the imposition of actual imprisonment, which will deter and encourage victims of crime to cooperate with law enforcement. "There is a basis for the conduct of this offense because of intimidation and damage to the personal security of the victim of the offense and of the public as a whole. Severe punishment is also required given the difficulty of exposing similar offenses, given that the victim rarely dares to complain and enlist the help of law enforcement. "Emphasis should be placed on the well-being and security of others, as opposed to the feelings of the defendant himself. At the core of any extortion process is the desire to obtain from others something which under normal circumstances, they were not willing to give," Judge Topf wrote.
The judge also added that it had been proven and determined that the two defendants were aware that when they arrived at the scene there was at least one little girl in the apartment, with whom there was a dialogue beyond the door, and they did not even find it appropriate to find out if more children were staying.
When they were told that the debtor was not at home, and despite their awareness that a little girl had been found in the apartment begging them to leave, the defendants sent fire at the apartment door and fled the scene.
"Burning the front door of the apartment, which was also the exit door from it, caused the three minors to be trapped in a smoky apartment, with the fire whispering in the door without being able to escape, except for jumping from the laundry room window, which was fortunately the only window not installed. "Fire at the door and try to get out of the place without finding it appropriate to turn it off or call the fire brigade," Judge Topf wrote.
The judge added that "the defendants, for their part, left the place mercilessly, leaving behind small children of bitter fate, imprisoned in the apartment alone, while the fire enveloped the front door. But that is not enough, in all the circumstances related to the commission of the offenses The conduct of the defendants after the act, on the same night, after the arson incident, was sent to Kostika a link to the news of the arson in Holon. "While clearly implying that 'this will be done to a man' who does not pay his debts or to those who came out whipped on him, for the sake of seeing and being seen."
