Public official indicted for leaking classified documents

Gag order imposed on defendant’s identity, nature of crimes; prosecutors request his detention until end of court proceedings

Prosecutors pressed charges Thursday against a public servant, alleging he had committed theft and possessed and leaked classified documents, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

The defendant’s identity was gagged by a court order, as was his position, the body for which he works and specifics of his alleged actions.

He is accused of sending documents classified as “secret” and “top secret” to individuals unauthorized to view them, the statement said.

As the indictment was filed at the Jerusalem District Court, state prosecution filed a request to keep the defendant in custody until the end of court proceedings against him.

The investigation was conducted by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 anti-fraud unit. The defendant was arrested two weeks ago.

His lawyer said he denies the charges against him.

In February, former minister Gonen Segev was sentenced to 11 years in prison as part of a plea bargain that saw him convicted of serious espionage offenses and giving information to an enemy. Segev was convicted of meeting with Iranian intelligence officials repeatedly over a period of six years and supplying them with information.

Segev was arrested in May of last year and extradited from Equatorial Guinea to Israel. He had been living in Nigeria since being released from an Israeli prison on a drug smuggling rap in 2007.