Attorney Barak Cohen Acquitted of Insulting Police Officer After Five Years
Attorney Barak Cohen was acquitted of insulting a public servant after five years of legal proceedings regarding his repeated performances of a satirical song targeting a police officer.
Five years after the indictment, attorney Barak Cohen was acquitted on Thursday of insulting a public servant. The charges stemmed from his repeated performances of a satirical song targeting a police officer several years ago. The prosecution argued that despite a previous conviction involving the same officer, Cohen continued his defiant actions with malicious intent to harm the complainant across various platforms.
According to the indictment, between 2018 and 2019, Cohen utilized his tens of thousands of social media followers to publish derogatory content against the police officer. This included frequent performances and sharing of a song titled "Intelligence Coordinator," which the state maintained contained insulting and humiliating lyrics regarding the officer's duties. The state noted that Cohen sold 108 vinyl records featuring the track online for 55 shekels each and performed it live at the Barby club in Tel Aviv and during the 2018 IndieNegev festival.
The Judge's Rationale
Presiding over the case, the judge criticized the decision to prosecute artistic expression, stating that utilizing criminal law to deal with creative works should be a measure of last resort, if used at all, particularly in a democratic society where freedom of expression is foundational.
"The labeling of a musical creation as a criminal offense is a harsh measure that should not be taken in gray areas, but only when dealing with unequivocally illegal content such as threats or incitement."
Rejection of Selective Enforcement
The court noted that while the song contained provocative language, standing alone it did not cross the threshold required to establish the criminal offense of insulting a public servant. Furthermore, the judge pointed out the absurdity of potential criminal liability given that cover versions of the song had been performed by other artists. Ultimately, the court concluded that the state failed to prove a high probability that the performances severely disrupted the officer's duties or the public service as a whole, while concurrently rejecting Cohen's claims of selective enforcement.
