Court orders evaluation to decide whether NCO in PM’s office leaks case can be released to house arrest

The Tel Aviv District Court orders that IDF non-commissioned officer Ari Rosenfeld be sent for an evaluation to determine whether or not he can be released to house arrest.

Rosenfeld is a key figure in the Prime Minister’s Office security documents scandal who allegedly unlawfully transferred classified documents to an aide of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The evaluation service is requested to address the level of danger posed by the applicant,” Judge Ala Masarwa writes, saying the position of the Shin Bet must be taken into consideration as well as Rosenfeld’s defense attorney’s assertion that Rosenfeld’s mental state is deteriorating due to his ongoing incarceration.

The judge requests that the evaluation service present its report no later than February 6, far quicker than usual, because of concerns over Rosenfeld’s condition in prison.

Earlier this month, Rosenfeld’s attorney presented the court with a letter from Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein in which Corb said that Edelstein wrote that the head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency Ronen Bar stated that releasing Rosenfeld would not endanger national security.