Four arrested, 3 detained during anti-corruption protests near AG’s home
Police say demonstrators defied guidelines restricting location and volume of rallies
Four people were arrested and three others detained Friday night during anti-corruption protests near the home of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
Police said demonstrators had defied new guidelines which forbid protests along Mandelblit’s route to and from his neighborhood synagogue in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva.
Officials said demonstrators also refused to accompany them to the police station, used loudspeakers, which is also forbidden, and obstructed the officers in carrying out their duties.
Protesters told Haaretz they were on their way to the home of other demonstrators when they were detained by police.
Activists have petitioned the High Court of Justice against the new police directives issued this week, which place stringent limits on areas in which rallies can be held and forbid the use of voice amplification equipment. The new rules also limit the hours during which protests can be held.
Anti-corruption activists have been holding regular protests near Mandelblit’s home for years, demanding he indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the corruption cases into his affairs.
Recently protests have increased in frequency from weekly affairs to several times a week. Protests are usually attended by no more than several dozen people.
Mandelblit has already announced his intention to indict Netanyahu fraud and breach of trust in the three cases and with bribery in one of them, pending a hearing.
The hearing has been set for October 2-3, delayed from its original date of July 10 at the request of the prime minister’s defense team.
Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing.
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