A. infiltrated into Israel from Egypt two years ago. He was caught by police a month ago but managed to escape from the police van when the police stopped to arrest another illegal worker, leaving him unattended. At a hearing last week, he said that he planned to leave Israel because his son was sick and was about to be operated on in Moldova.

A. bought a ticket and received a laissez-passer from the embassy, and on December 2, he drove to the airport. He was arrested by the police, who were following him, as he was about to enter Terminal 3.

Attorney Sharon Bavli-Larry, who supervises arrests of foreign workers on behalf of the Justice Ministry, wrote: "I cannot ignore the grave conduct of the Immigration Police. The impression is that someone in the police tried to settle accounts with the detainee, or even to take revenge [she underlined this - R.S.] for his escaping from them a month ago."

She noted that A. was now in jail, at the taxpayers' expense, and that his ticket was no longer valid, so the state would have to pay for another.

"The fact that the police have a quota of arrests to meet does not justify arresting someone who is leaving the country," she added.

When Bavli-Larry decided to set A. free, the man refused to go, saying that he had no apartment and was afraid of the Immigration Police. She therefore sent him back to jail and ordered the police to buy him a ticket on the first flight out.