In the video: Lior Ben Yosef in a conversation from the prison in Taiwan with his family members tells about the difficult conditions of imprisonment (photo: courtesy of the family, editing: Amit Simcha)
The Israeli Lior Ben Yosef, who has been imprisoned for three months in Taiwan following a violent argument that developed between him and a driver in the country, tried to commit suicide a few days before the start of his trial there.
He was saved and hospitalized, and now his family is worried about the deterioration of his mental state, and is increasing efforts to help him.
"My brother is broken," said his sister Michal to Walla!, "He has no legal protection and therefore he has lost hope that he will receive a fair trial. He is very afraid of a long prison term for a crime he did not commit. We have unequivocal proof of his innocence," she claimed.
"By a great miracle he was not able to save his life, he was treated in a hospital and after a day's hospitalization he was released and currently his condition is stable."
"Lior is deathly afraid of returning to the Taiwanese prison and would rather die than be in this terrible place," she testified about her brother.
"He was severely abused there for five months, they threw him in a dungeon, starved him, humiliated him and condemned him because he was Jewish, threw his book of Psalms on the floor and shouted at him, 'Where is your God,' and more. The mask of abuse he went through caused him to be Post-traumatic and today he is in a very difficult mental state."
The incident in which Ben Yosef got involved happened on October 12, 2021. The family was told then that he crossed a white stop line during a routine ride to work on his motorcycle.
A foreign driver warned him that this is not acceptable in the country, but Lior ignored the comment and when the light changed to green, he continued driving.
Ben Yosef is hospitalized (photo: courtesy of the family)
"There is a procedure there that traffic violations are photographed and sent to the police, and they even receive a financial reward for it, but this driver, who apparently preferred to take the law into his own hands, drove after Lior while trying to run him over, and later blocked his path with the vehicle," said family members in Israel.
"Lior simply asked him, 'Are you trying to kill me?'
And an argument developed between the two that turned violent."
According to the family, the foreign driver, a Malaysian-Muslim, pulled out a sharp object and stabbed Lior in the hand.
We also claimed that Lior had no choice, and so, out of a desire to defend himself, he hit the driver back in response and at this point he went from being attacked to being an attacker."
Ben Yosef, 32 years old from Petach Tikva, a salesman who moved to Taiwan more than three years ago following a business opportunity, ran a store for cosmetic products in the mall, and from the profits he continued to support his mother in Israel.
"He is a child of a family," said his sisters, Michal, Maya and Merev.
"A good boy who always helped his family. Even during his military service he chose a position where he could continue to help at home", he has a local partner who also continues to try and help him.
Last week she was the one who called for help and took care of him in the hospital.
"It all started when the Malaysian recognized Lior as an Israeli with combat training and on this background attacked him. Now it is as clear as day to us. This is even evident from his testimony," says nurse Michal, "then, because of his false testimony, Lior was thrown into prison for many months He did in a dungeon. Today he is awaiting trial in his house and he doesn't even have proper legal protection. You can see in the security camera videos how Lior was attacked and thrown to the sidewalk with his scooter, and actually went through a run-over attack."
"It doesn't interest the Taiwanese. They hate foreigners in Taiwan, so Lior feels that he has no chance of a fair trial," the nurse says painfully.
An appeal last year to Israel's ambassador to the UN, former minister Gilad Erdan, begging him to intervene on his behalf with his Taiwanese counterpart and bring about his release, did not bring any results.
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To the full article
Lior Ben Yosef (photo: courtesy of the family)
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"Our mother is crushed by the whole situation and begs for help," say his sisters.
"The family has been impoverished throughout this period, so we are appealing to anyone who can help us financially to get a lawyer in a short time to defend and reveal the evidence we have in court and together we will put an end to this nightmare and bring him home."
The court hearing in Lior Ben Yosef's case is set for February 24.
"We have no ability to transfer an advance payment of NIS 140,000 to the lawyer handling the case," the nurses say painfully.
"What happened to our brother can happen to anyone. We started a mass recruitment campaign and we need the public's help."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that they are following the developments related to the circumstances of the case.
"The Israeli mission in Taipei as well as the department for Israelis abroad in the consular wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are in contact with the family and accompany the treatment from the beginning and will continue to do so," it said. For
donations, click on the page "
Donations can also be made by calling 052-5760064 or by bank transfer to Bank Discount, branch 041 Salor, Tel Aviv, to account 801887 in the name of Michal Ben Yosef
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