Israeli man sentenced to 10 years in Iran espionage case

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Moti Maman, 73, to 10 years in prison after convicting him of contact with a foreign agent and unlawful entry into an enemy state.

Maman admitted that he had twice entered Iran, where he met with Iranian intelligence agents to discuss conducting terrorist activity in Israel. He also spoke with them about the prospect of carrying out assassinations of senior Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar and former prime minister Naftali Bennett.

According to the indictment, Maman traveled to Turkey on his own initiative, and was twice smuggled into Iranian territory, where he met with Iranian agents. In exchange for agreeing to carry out operations in Israel, he demanded a $1 million advance payment.

During the meetings, Maman and the Iranian agents discussed ways to smuggle weapons into Israel, the possibility of recruiting an agent from within the Mossad, and political assassinations. Although none of these plans were realized, Judge Benny Sagi ruled that the meetings themselves, Maman’s conduct, and his willingness to advance hostile activity against Israel warranted a severe punishment.

The judge emphasized that Maman’s actions took place during the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, as Israel faced direct threats from Iran and its proxies. Sagi noted that even financially motivated collaborations with enemies of the state must be harshly condemned to deter others.

In addition to his prison sentence, Maman was given a 12-month suspended sentence, contingent on future behavior, and ordered to forfeit the funds he received during his stay in Iran, 5,000 ($5,689) in total.

Maman, who spent many years living in Turkey, is married to a woman from Belarus and has a young child. On social media, he frequently posted content critical of Israeli security and political figures. His arrest in August followed the exposure of his ties with Iranian intelligence operatives.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.