The prosecution informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it supports granting Sofian Maslouhi a retrial – and, in an exceptional step, his outright acquittal – in the 1990 murder of jeweler Menashe Attar, without holding a new trial.
Maslouhi was convicted in 1994 of offenses stemming from a plot to kidnap and rob Attar, who was shot during the incident and later died of his injuries. Maslouhi was sentenced to life imprisonment, to be served concurrently with another life sentence imposed in a separate murder case.
In its notice to the court, the prosecution stated that its position was formed following a renewed examination of the case, prompted by findings in prior rulings concerning Maslouhi’s alleged accomplices. Those findings, it said, raised “difficulties and questions” that affect the evidentiary weight of Maslouhi’s confession – despite the confession, according to the prosecution, being given “freely and voluntarily.”
The prosecution emphasized that the decision was grounded in the unique circumstances of the case. For one, more than three decades have passed since these events. Then there’s the fact that Maslouhi is already serving a concurrent life sentence for another murder, his responsibility for which is not disputed. Under these circumstances, the prosecution concluded that there is no legal or practical justification for holding a retrial.
At the same time, the prosecution stressed that its position should not be understood as acknowledging a flaw in Maslouhi’s confession, describing the case as “exceptional and unique,” and saying it reflects a careful balance between the principle of finality of proceedings and considerations of justice. The prosecution also expressed “deep sorrow” for the Attar family, which it said is once again being forced to confront its loss decades later.
The Public Defender’s Office, which filed the request for a retrial, welcomed the prosecution’s agreement to acquit Maslouhi, but sharply criticized its refusal to acknowledge investigative and prosecutorial failures.
Defense attorneys argue Maslouhi's confession was false
In the retrial application, public defense attorneys argued that Maslouhi’s confession was a false confession extracted while he was a vulnerable 18-year-old held in prolonged detention under harsh conditions. According to the application, Maslouhi was subjected to sexual assault by a police informant planted in his cell, a claim the Public Defender says was recognized by the prosecution.
The Public Defender argued that the power imbalance between an informant and a young detainee rendered any notion of consent implausible. It further argued that Maslouhi’s confession was the product of a convergence of risk factors for false confession, including physical and psychological distress, lack of legal representation during interrogation, and promises of benefits by investigators.
According to the defense, despite the prosecution’s acknowledgment of serious difficulties in Maslouhi’s conviction – to the point of consenting to an acquittal – it has declined to admit to “grave failures” by law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities that led to a wrongful conviction.
Maslouhi was arrested in March 1993 at the age of 18 in an unrelated case. While in custody, police investigators approached him as part of a special investigative task force that formed to solve three unsolved murders from the early 1990s.
Within a short time, the task force announced that all three cases had been solved. Nine defendants were indicted. Maslouhi ultimately became the sole defendant convicted in the Attar murder, based exclusively on his confession, while the other eight defendants denied the charges, stood trial, and were acquitted.
The Public Defender argued that investigative focus on Maslouhi and the other defendants ultimately prevented the case from being solved, leaving Attar’s killer at large to this day.
Maslouhi will remain incarcerated regardless of the court’s decision in the Attar case, due to his separate life sentence.