7 years in prison for an Israeli who assisted Iranian intelligence: 'A deterrent message against the enemy's recruitment attempts'

The District Court in Nof HaGalil-Nazareth sentenced today, Thursday, Artem Zolotarev to seven years in prison after he was convicted of carrying out espionage and sabotage missions for Iranian intelligence agencies. Zolotarev was convicted, as part of a plea bargain, of offenses including contact with a foreign agent, espionage, and damage to property.

From documenting facilities to torching vehicles: missions for money

According to the indictment handled by Adv. Amos Danieli of the Northern District Attorney's Office, Zolotarev maintained continuous contact with Iranian intelligence elements for several months. During this period, he carried out a series of missions within the country in exchange for thousands of dollars.

Among the missions he carried out:

1. Intelligence gathering: photographing facilities, vehicles, and houses for the operators.

2. Sabotage and public order offenses: spraying graffiti and torching vehicles.

3. Recruitment attempts: an attempt to enlist additional citizens to carry out missions for the Iranian elements.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court sentenced Zolotarev to 12 months of suspended imprisonment, a fine of 10,000 shekels, and financial compensation of 10,000 shekels to each of the four owners of the vehicles that were directly damaged by his arson acts.

In the verdict, Judge Hanna Sabbagh emphasized that punishment for these types of offenses must be severe, in light of the increase in attempts by Iranian intelligence elements to recruit Israeli citizens to carry out missions that harm the security of the state. The judge determined that under these circumstances, firm punishment is required to send a deterrent and clear message to anyone who would consider cooperating with enemy elements.