Yonatan Urich, Ofer Golan and Israel (Srulik Einhorn), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hive of political and strategic media advisers, are expected to face criminal charges, subject to a hearing. This is what the Cyber Department of the State Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday, notifying their attorneys.
The three are suspected of aggravated harassment of a witness due to the alleged harassment of the state's witness in Case 4000, former Director General of the Ministry of Communications, Shlomo (Momo) Filber. The decision was made at the discretion of the State Attorney.
Netanyahu. The adjacent hive will be prosecuted, photo: Amit Shabi
It is suspected that in August 2019, as part of their duties at the Likud party's election headquarters, Urich, Golan and Einhorn allegedly planned to harass state witness Filber.
The three worked to send a patrol car with an external speaker in front of Filber's house, where the following recording was played: "Momo be a man, come out and tell the truth, Momo Filber, what did they do to you that you lied against the prime minister? What did Momo promise you? The left is using you to topple the Likud. Momo will hear for yourself what you said before the police pressed you." Subsequently, a video of the incident circulated on social media.
The investigation into the incident was opened in September 2019, and from October 2019 to January 2022, legal proceedings were held in the various courts, in two rounds, pending another hearing in the Supreme Court in an expanded panel.
The proceedings focused on the allegations of illegality in the searches of the mobile phones of the suspects interrogated in the case, as well as the implications of this illegality with regard to police requests to issue late warrants for penetration of the suspects' mobile phones. Ultimately, the Supreme Court allowed the suspects' mobile phones to be searched.
Following the Supreme Court's decision, an investigation into Lahav 433 was completed, during which the phones were searched and messages were taken from the relevant parties. Upon completion of the investigation, the investigation file was transferred to the State Prosecutor's Office in August 2022. Since then, the State Prosecutor's Office, at various levels, has held discussions and consultations on various issues arising from the case, at the end of which it was decided, as stated, to consider the criminal prosecution of the suspects, subject to a hearing.
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