Court rejects Netanyahu’s request to skip opening of his trial

The Jerusalem District Court has rejected a request from Prime Minister Benjamin  Netanyahu tat he be allowed to skip the opening hearing of his criminal trial this coming Sunday.

The court argues that the law requires defendants to be present for the readout of the charges against them.

“This is the case in every criminal trial, and so too in the current criminal procedure. We have not found that there is any reason for the applicant to justify an exception to this rule,” the judges write.

The court dismisses Netanyahu’s argument that he has already read and understands the charges against him, and therefore does not need to announce this publicly in court. The judges assert that this is part of the procedure in any case, and they must hear him say this aloud.

The judges also dismiss the prime minister’s claim that with his large security detail, the court won’t be able to adhere to the Health Ministry’s social distancing guidelines if he is indeed required to attend the trial. They write that they have instructed the relevant authorities to prepare and that there will be no issue with following the guidelines.