Yanis Yushayev's lawyer: "Mafia boss? If he were here, he would laugh at that"

A day after Yanis Yushayev, known as the "head of the Caucasian mafia," was assassinated by gunfire in broad daylight near Caesarea, his defense attorney, Rotem Cohen, was interviewed on Reshet Bet, where he described a figure entirely different from the one attached to his client over the years.

"A family man, father of young children, a legitimate businessman," Cohen said. "Objectively, this is supported — he has a shawarma place, another restaurant, kiosks." According to Cohen, the gap between Yushayev's public image and the actual legal material was abysmal.

"I represented him in several detention proceedings, and again — nothing matured into indictments," he said. "They suspected him of serious offenses, but there was no factual basis beyond the headline and the slogan. The courts, one after another, ordered his immediate release as soon as he arrived before a judge. There is and was no meat."

The attorney also addressed the nickname that stuck to Yushayev and his circle of associates. According to him, "head of the mafia" is a media label attached to his origin and friends, not a real description. "Yanis is no longer with us, but he would laugh at this," Cohen said, "because there is a gap between pompous headlines and the reality on the ground."

Cohen, who represents many cases in the area, which led to the connection between him and Yushayev, said that the video documenting the assassination left him stunned. "A scary, paralyzing video," he said. However, he emphasized that his client did not act like a person fearing for his fate: "I don't know who was with him, but these are not security guards. He did not fear for his life at all. He was living, spending time, in broad daylight, at noon — he did not look like someone who fears for his life."

To the question of how he, as a lawyer, approaches representing a figure with such a reputation, Cohen replied honestly: "There is always a fear of representing people with such a reputation. The police build a reputation for a person, and then a fear arises to represent him. But when you meet him, when you are an honest person, coordinate expectations and are thorough — you learn legally, and then it is less scary."

Background

Yushayev, a resident of Or Akiva, about 45 years old, was shot to death on Sunday afternoon while leaving a restaurant at a gas station near the Caesarea interchange. According to the documentation, the suspect arrived at the scene with his face exposed, identified Yushayev, passed by him, turned around, and shot him in the back of the head at point-blank range. The report of the shooting was received by MADA at 15:51, and medical teams evacuated him in critical condition to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera — where his death was determined shortly thereafter. The police launched a massive manhunt for the suspects, who fled in a vehicle, including roadblocks, searches, and helicopter assistance.

Yushayev was considered for many years one of the most prominent intelligence targets of the Hof District's Central Unit (Yamar), as someone who, according to the police, headed a crime organization known as the "Caucasian mafia," operating mainly in the Or Akiva, Hadera, and Sharon areas. He was arrested many times and his name was linked to a series of serious affairs — among others, shooting at a businessman's vehicle and apartment, suspicion of arson of dozens of vehicles, and suspicion of involvement in throwing grenades — but he was considered a criminal who is difficult to incriminate, and most investigations did not mature into indictments. At the beginning of the year, he was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport upon landing from Russia, and about a decade ago, he was shot and wounded while paying condolences in Hadera. The police stated that this is a serious incident that could ignite another war in the crime scene in the coastal area, and that the investigation is still in its early stages.