Mandelblit says he will deal with 'wrongdoing' in Case 4000, if there is any
The attorney-general was referred to the reported contradictions in the testimony of the State's witness in the "Bezeq-Walla affair."
By MAARIV ONLINEATTORNEY-GENERAL Avichai Mandelblit faces a decision that not only will determine his career, but also the trajectory of the state.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit, referring to the publication about the contradictions and problems of the testimony of the state witness in Case 4000, said that, "If there was any wrongdoing - it will be dealt with."Speaking regarding Nir Hafetz, he stated on Tuesday that "if any wrongdoing is found in the object-investigation, we will deal with it." Last night, 12 transcripts were released from the investigation of Hafetz, a former associate of the Netanyahu couple and a state witness in Case 4000. The transcripts show that he contradicted his versions of the incident after he signed an agreement with the state.The statement reads: "About a month ago, a hearing was held for the prime minister. In this context, the prime minister's counsel argued the same allegations that are now being made in various publications regarding Nir Hafetz. The Attorney-General, with his staff, is currently preparing a procedure to review the allegations at the hearing for a final decision. At the same time, of course, serious arguments are also being taken into consideration by the prime minister on the gathering of Nir Hefetz's testimony.Of course, this is not appropriate nor do we intend to conduct a parallel communication hearing. The process of hearing and examining the allegations followed is a professional and clean process from any foreign influence, and will continue to be so," the statement continued."We remind you that the Attorney-General wrote at the time to the Chairman of the Israel Bar Association, that he was of the opinion that police investigators had made it clear to the state witnesses that they were required to tell the truth only, and that the statements made by the state witnesses were freely and voluntarily disclosed. It was also noted that a condition for making an agreement up to a state is only truthful. A distinction must be made between the allegations related to state witnesses, as far as the truth is told by them, and the allegations of improper actions during the investigation. Therefore, in addition to the aforementioned things, the letter made it clear that as far as case handling is concerned that an improper action was taken, this will be examined and handled as required," it said.It also states: "We will be cautious about relying on partial, missing, and sometimes even tendentious or out of context information. Decisions about the evidence and the legal significance of one or other component of the investigation are made after careful examination of all the materials, and the case will be too."President of the Israel Bar Association Avi Himi said, "An enforcement agency cannot impose a publishing ban on suspicions without giving the public an explanation of what it is and why it is hidden. Such conduct could seriously damage public confidence in the justice system. I call on the trustees under the law to audit the prosecutor's office and police - the Ombudsman for the Prosecutor's Office and the DIP's head - to go into the depth of the incident and investigate this conduct immediately. " He added, that "Law enforcement and law enforcement systems are very dear to my heart and important that they operate professionally and fearlessly. However, if there is any suspicion of deficiencies in their activities or of an irreversible infringement of human rights in general and of the fundamental right to due process in particula, it is our duty to require a comprehensive, thorough and serious review."According to the report by Channel 12, Hafetz expressed confusion before and after signing an agreement with the state."I'm already confused about what I remember from the investigation and what I really remember, it mixes up," he said during his interrogation the day after he signed."Memory is not my strong side. I am weak in the long run: I will remember a lot of things now but I’ll forget them in another six months," he said on another occasion.The report added that Hefetz was detained for 15 consecutive days, an especially long periods in the history of white-collar crimes in the country. The pressure was meant to make him remember, and sign. Throughout the investigation he complained about the flea bites, but he did not receive treatment.It was also reported that "in telephone dialing it turned out that there was no triple meeting between the three during the election. The only date they were put together was four months before the election, on November 28, 2014. Five months after his interrogation, when it turned out the version he submitted is incorrect, Hefetz was invited again to try to correct his version. He came full of goodwill, but only made the issues more complicated.”
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