Israeli Nabbed On Suspicion Of Committing Crimes vs Nat'l Security

The Israeli citizen was denied the right to meet with his lawyer in the first 20 days of his detention at the order of the court on suspicion that he had committed crimes against national security, Josh Breiner reported for Haaretz.

He was arrested as part of a joint investigation by the Shin Bet security service and the police, held in detention, and interrogated for a few weeks.

In the first 20 days of his detention, Breiner learned that the suspect was denied the right to meet with his lawyer at the order of the court, which raised an uproar among lawyers and human rights activists.

The suspect's identity, the suspicions against him, and other details of the affair have been put under a gag order by the Ashkelon Magistrate's Court.

The affair itself has been cleared for publication following petitions by Haaretz and Ynet, filed by lawyer Yaron Hanin of the firm Lieblich-Moser-Gluck.

The suspect's lawyers, Avi Himi and Moshe Weiss said in response that “despite the bombastic headlines, this is a suspicion that will end in a whimper. Our client is a citizen who is loyal to the state of Israel.”

In a hearing held following the state's appeal in the case, Be’er Sheva District Court Judge Eliahu Bitan told the prosecution to "come back to reality."

He added: "The general scenario is unconvincing and has been exhausted. It doesn’t seem to me like a dramatic thing, that we saved the State of Israel. The truth has to be established during the initial arrest and that, too has a limit."

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