Lawyers for Qatargate suspect Urich seek appeal to Supreme Court against continued detention

Lawyers for Jonatan Urich, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a key suspect in the Qatargate probe, file a request to appeal to the Supreme Court against a decision made yesterday to keep Urich in custody until Monday.

The Lod-Central District Court overturned a previous decision to free Urich from detention as well as from house arrest, with the judge saying his remand should be extended as suspicions against him “significantly strengthened in the past day.”

Attorneys Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein have filed the request to take the matter to the country’s top court.

The Qatargate affair has revolved primarily around suspicions that two Netanyahu aides — Urich and Eli Feldstein — committed multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen, all while working for the prime minister.

In their new request, the attorneys argue that the district court “made a mistake in defining the offense,” adding that Qatar isn’t defined by Israeli law as an enemy country and that “many officials in Israel, including very senior defense officials,” regularly work with the Gulf nation.

They also argue that Urich, as a private individual providing services to the premier’s Likud party rather than a state-employed official, “is allowed to concurrently work in any role.”