Police chief vows to clamp down on press info after gag order fiasco

Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino on Tuesday came out against his Tel Aviv District office’s handling of a press conference Monday, in which details of the investigation into a 2009 double homicide at a Tel Aviv gay youth club were revealed 30 minutes before a judge ruled that a gag order on the case was still actually in place.

“The press conference held yesterday was not in line with the instructions given in the past. In case it wasn’t clear enough, I want to say unequivocally that the Israel Police will no longer hold press conferences at all, let alone on ongoing, sensitive investigations such as this one,” Danino said of Monday’s fiasco.

During the press conference, police revealed the name of the key suspect, as well as details about his accomplices and the alleged motive behind the attack. However, at the same time, an attorney for one of the three suspects in the case was in the Tel Aviv magistrate’s court appealing a tentative decision to lift the gag order that had been in place since his client’s arrest last week.

Police thought that the hearing only pertained to the names of two of the suspects, and not to the motive or other details. Meanwhile, the judge ruled to keep the gag order in place without knowing that central details had already been revealed.

The gag order was finally lifted Tuesday afternoon, allowing the press to reveal many of the details of the case.

“From now on, all affairs having to do with gag orders will be under the full authority of the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division,” said Danino, adding that an investigative committee will be created to probe the handling of Monday’s events and to issue recommendations.

Danino went on to criticize the anonymous sources in the police who placed the blame for the fiasco on the shoulders of Judge Ido Droyan, who reinstated the gag order shortly after the press conference.

“The comments against the justice system and honorable judges are completely inappropriate,” he said.

Danino concluded by commending the Tel Aviv District for its work on the investigation into the murders.