A prison parole board authorized on Wednesday, June 19, the immediate release of a woman who was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for the murder of her abusive husband.

The decision to release Dalal Daoud after serving 17 years in prison was supported by the State Attorney’s Office and the Committee for the Prevention of Domestic Violence.

Hadash MK Ofer Cassif at Wednesday, June 19th, demonstration outside the Ramla prison in support of the immediate release of Dalal Daoud (Photo: frame from recorded footage on Facebook)

During her 2002 trial, Daoud’s attorneys told the court that her husband regularly beat, raped and kept her chained when she was home alone because he thought she was being unfaithful to him. Advocates said Daoud was repeatedly assaulted sexually and beaten and had made 26 calls to police by the time she killed him. Medical files show multiple bone fractures, cuts and lacerations. She had been hospitalized several times because of his beatings, attempted suicide once, and underwent a psychological evaluation.

At a demonstration Wednesday outside the Ramla court where the Israel Prison Service Parole Board was meeting, hundreds of supporters called for Daoud’s immediately release, saying authorities had to do more to stop domestic violence.

“Dalal Daoud is not a murderer, but a victim of violence who decided to fight for her life,” Hadash MK Ofer Cassif told protesters, saying that despite 26 complaints filed with police against her husband “no one defended her, and now she is the one who’s paying too much for having done so herself.” Cassif asked, “What else needs to happen for law enforcement authorities to take complaints about domestic violence seriously?”