Pearlman called for questioning

Shin Bet summons murder suspect, just 3 days into his house arrest.

By BEN HARTMAN
311_chaim pearlman (photo credit: Channel 10)
311_chaim pearlman
(photo credit: Channel 10)
Less than three days after he was released to house arrest, alleged “Jewish terrorist” Chaim Pearlman was called in for questioning by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Sunday, Pearlman’s attorney told The Jerusalem Post.
His attorney Adi Keidar said that the meeting “wasn’t over anything specific, it was just a standard, routine sort of thing. They were just interested in speaking to him.”
The Shin Bet refused to confirm or deny the report on Sunday.
Pearlman was arrested in July on suspicion of murdering four Palestinians and attempting to murder seven more in Jerusalem in the late ’90s. Shortly after his arrest, associates of Pearlman’s gave Channel 2 audio recordings he had made, in which an alleged Shin Bet agent urged him to kill Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch.
Last Monday, Judge Nahum Streinlicht denied a request made by police and the Shin Bet to extend Pearlman’s remand by an additional 12 days, instead agreeing to a two-day extension. Streinlicht said there was not enough evidence against Pearlman for a conviction and that the 28 days he had already been in custody should have been enough to find sufficient evidence. At last Wednesday’s hearing, the judge ruled that Pearlman would be released to house arrest the next morning, following a final hearing.
During the Thursday hearing, police only appealed the length of the house arrest, which the judge increased by one day to 15 days. As a condition of his house arrest, Pearlman is banned from making any sort of contact with the other suspects implicated by the police in the case.
Outside the courthouse on Thursday, Pearlman said he had suffered abuse and humiliation at the hands of investigators while in custody.
“They abused me for a month, and I am pleased that justice has seen the light of day. For 31 days they kept me imprisoned, screamed at me, cursed me, tried to humiliate me and kept me handcuffed to a chair for 18 hours,” he said.
Over the weekend, the Pearlman household in Tekoa had a festive atmosphere as a constant stream of friends, family and assorted supporters came by to congratulate him for seemingly beating the charges.