Court scraps restrictive conditions for suspect in alleged Ra’am vote-buying scheme

The Beersheba Magistrate’s Court cancels restrictive conditions placed on Sa’id Abu Sa’ad, one of four Bedouin men who were detained in the south on Thursday as part of an alleged vote-buying scheme for traditionalist Arab-led party Ra’am.

The court had released all four suspects to house arrest the day they were detained.

Following an appeal from Abu Sa’ad’s attorney, the court today also ends the terms of his house arrest. The other three suspects remain under house arrest.

Yesterday, the chair of the Central Elections Committee, Justice Noam Sohlberg, reiterated in a video message that last week’s national election was “conducted properly,” in a bid to quell claims of widespread voter fraud. Sohlberg appeared in the video alongside Shin Bet chief David Zini, CEC acting director-general Dean Livne, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, with the four presenting a united front against the claims.