Law limits publicizing names of those probed

Police investigation details may not be made public less than 48 hours after notification of the subject.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Forensic police unit (photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Forensic police unit
(photo credit: Ben Hartman)
Details of police investigations may not be made public less than 48 hours after the subject of the probe is notified, according to a law the Knesset passed late Monday night.
The government-proposed bill gives suspects the opportunity to request a gag order from the court on the investigation’s details.
Previously there was no limitation on when a suspect’s name could be made public, unless a court ruled against doing so.
Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman David Rotem (Israel Beiteinu) explained, when presenting the bill to the plenum, that the new law was especially necessary in cases where there was weak proof or the police were mistaken, and publicizing the suspect’s name could irreversibly harm him or her.
There could be exceptions to the law – which passed with 21 in favor and eight opposed – if publicizing the suspect’s name would help the investigation, or if not releasing the details would harm the public.