Suspects in Bezeq probe demand immediate release over judge texting scandal
Attorneys of Shaul Elovitch, others say judicial process has been contaminated by apparent coordination between court and investigators on rulings against their clients
Attorneys for six suspects under arrest in the Bezeq corruption probe have filed for their immediate release after text messages exchanged between a judge and an investigator in the case appeared to show that the two coordinated the judge’s rulings on suspects’ remands before hearings were even held.
The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court was set to discuss suspects’ requests for release on Monday morning, with Judge Ala Masarwa presiding. Masarwa was taking over for Judge Ronit Poznansky-Katz, who has been placed on immediate leave pending an investigation into her conduct.
A police source told the Ynet news site that law enforcement officials were not concerned that the texting scandal would hurt the Bezeq probe, designated by police as Case 4000.
“The evidence will prevail,” the source said.
Case 4000 involves suspicions that the chairman and controlling shareholder of the telecommunications giant Bezeq, Shaul Elovitch, ordered the Walla news site, which he owns, to grant positive coverage to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family, in exchange for the prime minister allegedly advancing regulations benefiting Bezeq and Elovitch.
In a WhatsApp chat obtained by Channel 10 news, Israel Securities Authority investigator Eran Shacham-Shavit tells Poznansky-Katz that authorities hoped to release some of the suspects in the probe, while holding others for a few more days.
“Try and act surprised” in the courtroom, he writes.
“I’m practicing my surprised face,” the judge responds.
In another chat, Shacham-Shavit writes that, on the matter of suspects “[Bezeq CEO] Stella [Handler] and Iris [Elovitch, Shaul’s wife], we will ask for a few more days tomorrow. They will request three days, but you can definitely, definitely give two days.”
“You’re continuing to reveal everything to me and I will have to act really, really surprised,” the judge responds, apparently jokingly.
The conversation took place before the suspects’ remand hearings, where they are ostensibly given an opportunity to make their case before the judge decides whether they can be released and the conditions of said release.
Following publication of the chat, Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked ordered a formal inquiry into Poznansky-Katz’s behavior.
Poznansky-Katz was removed from planned hearings in the case on Monday, with the president of the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court saying the judge had been put on immediate leave and would not take part in any further court deliberations until an inquiry was completed.
Shacham-Shavit was also removed from the case and placed on leave, with the Israel Securities Authority vowing to investigate his actions.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan viewed the incident as “contravening the basic principles required of state attorneys.”
The suspects appealing for release on Monday are Elovitch, his wife Iris and son Or, former Netanyahu spokesperson Nir Hefetz, Handler and Bezeq’s deputy CEO Amikam Shorer.
Elovitch’s attorney Jacques Chen said Sunday, “It has now been revealed that the arrest is entirely illegal. We intend to appeal to the court this very evening to request the release [of Elovitch] forthwith. We will consider our next steps.”
An attorney for Elovitch’s son Or said the text messages between the investigator and judge had “contaminated the judicial process.”
The political response to the revelation of the chats was swift and furious.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman called for the judge to be suspended immediately. “We must not allow the public to lose trust in the court system,” he tweeted.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid called the incident “appalling” and said it showed “contempt of court and contempt towards the public.”
Labor party leader Avi Gabbay said “a judge who coordinates arrests with a prosecutor has no place in a courtroom,” but added it did nothing to mitigate the suspicions against Netanyahu, which “no conduct by a judge — disgraceful as it may be — can take away.”
Zionist Union Knesset faction chairman MK Yoel Hasson was also aghast. “Public confidence in the judicial system is the holiest of holies,” he tweeted. “The right to due process for every suspect is basic. Both the investigator and the judge should be terminated from their positions this very evening.”
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) said, “If it becomes clear that citizens were sent to detention in a contaminated process in which decisions were made prior to a hearing, this is one of the most serious criminal offenses there are.”
MK Bezalel Smotrich of the Jewish Home party also called for the pair’s suspension, and demanded that all suspects in Case 4000 be freed immediately. “We mustn’t allow even the smallest chance that people’s freedom was taken away through an improper process,” he said.
Earlier Sunday, a source familiar with the investigations told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu would likely be questioned in the case on Friday, “possibly” under caution as a suspect.
The Case 4000 investigation has gathered steam in the past week, following the arrest of a number of high-profile aides to Netanyahu and executives at Bezeq.
Shlomo Filber, the suspended director-general of the Communications Ministry and a longtime Netanyahu confidant, signed a deal on Tuesday to turn state’s witness and possibly incriminate the prime minister in the affair. Filber had his remand extended on Wednesday by 15 days while police continue to question him.
Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.