Judge denies police request to hold onto Qatargate suspect’s phones

The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court denies a police request for more time to keep hold of three electronic devices belonging to Jonatan Urich, the key suspect in the so-called Qatargate investigation. Police have 48 hours to appeal the decision.

Urich, along with Netanyahu’s former spokesman Eli Feldstein, is accused of working for Qatar in the period after October 7, 2023, in order to cast the Gulf state in a positive light for over a year after the Hamas attack, despite its strong ties to the terror group.

A police representative told the court that police have yet to gain access to the content of the three devices, stating that attempts to unlock two of them were unsuccessful and that no attempt has been made to unlock the third. The representative said in response to a question by Judge Menahem Mizrahi that he could not estimate when it would be possible to gain access to the content of the devices, but that police were requesting to continue to hold on to them in order to unlock them at some point in the future.

Mizrahi says that police have not accede to his request for a “classified document” detailing the evidence accumulated against Urich so far, as well as the investigative actions that must still be taken. He says he is therefore rejecting the request.

Mizrahi has frequently denied police requests in the case, including requests to extend detention and release conditions. His decisions have frequently been overturned by the Central District Court, and Mizrahi’s conduct has at times been questioned.