The Central District Court accepted a police appeal on Monday and ordered the reimposition of restrictions on Tzachi Braverman from going to the Prime Minister’s Office and to the Kirya military headquarters until January 26.
Lod District Court Judge Yaakov Spasser ruled, after accepting the police’s appeal and overturning a previous court decision, that there is reasonable suspicion justifying the imposition of restrictions on the Prime Minister’s Office chief of staff, who is under investigation on suspicion of obstructing legal proceedings in the Bild leak affair.
Spasser additionally ruled that Braverman would be prohibited from contacting those involved in the case as well as figures in the office, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Military Secretary Roman Gofman, and governemnt spokespeople, until February 10.
Braverman’s departure from the country has been prohibited until January 30. Accordingly, Braverman will be able to begin serving as the ambassador to London starting in February.
Braverman investigated after Eli Feldstein interview
About a week ago, Braverman was summoned for questioning following a KAN 11 interview with Eli Feldstein, former spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office.
In the interview, Feldstein revealed that Braverman had called him to the Kirya parking lot, asked him to leave his mobile phone outside the vehicle, and questioned him about an investigation being conducted in the IDF regarding the leaking of classified documents in the Bild affair.
Feldstein described how Braverman asked if he knew individuals involved in the case and presented names of future suspects. According to Feldstein, he mentioned the meeting with Braverman during his Shin Bet interrogation, but the police did not begin actively investigating Braverman until after it was mentioned in the KAN interview.
Last week, Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court President Judge Menachem Mizrahi canceled the restrictive conditions imposed on Braverman.
Referring to Eli Feldstein's retelling of the Braverman meeting, Mizrahi said that "a review of it shows that the evidential claims requested by the police to strengthen the evidence regarding the existence of the meeting are like camels floating in the air. A review of Feldstein’s various versions shows that he is a witness who is highly unreliable."