Lior Assulin at the court last month
(Credit: Moti Kimchi)
The Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office today (Thursday) filed an appeal with the city district court over the sentence of Lior Assulin, a former pioneer who was convicted last month of trafficking and possession of drugs not for personal consumption.
Assouline was convicted of 30 drug trafficking offenses and the Magistrate’s Court sentenced him to 19 months in prison, probation, financial commitment, probation and forfeiture. Today, in the notice of appeal to the district court filed by attorney Erez Richtenberg, it is stated that Assouline was convicted of offenses after admitting an amended indictment filed as part of a plea deal between the parties after a mediation proceeding.
The notice of appeal states that “the appellant will argue that the sentence imposed on him tends to be exaggerated, which justifies the intervention of the appellate court, as it does not embody the severity, known for the offenses committed by the respondent. Only with moderate intensity, as well as in determining the appropriate penalty range. “
It was further stated: “The appellant will claim that” the cessation of criminal activity was made only after he was apprehended by the police and not, God forbid, after he realized and internalized on his own the wrongdoing in his actions. After all, the degree of harm to the protected values is significant. “
According to the amended indictment, Assouline trafficked drugs between February and April 2018 through Telegrass. During the relevant period, Assouline received dozens of inquiries from dozens of customers who wanted to buy drugs from him and he executed the drug sales deals when he would reach the customers, including using a scooter that was used at the time as a driver for a courier company or through someone on his behalf.