3 senior Netanyahu aides indicted for witness intimidation in PM’s corruption cases

Prosecutors allege the three men sent a car with a loudspeaker to the home of a state witness to play messages critical of his testimony

Yisrael Einhorn (l) seen with Jonatan Urich (c) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019. (Courtesy)

Three senior aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were indicted on charges of witness intimidation on Tuesday, for having sent a car with a megaphone to the home of a key witness in Netanyahu’s criminal trial in 2019 in order to harass him.

The three aides indicted were Ofer Golan, who served as a spokesman for the Netanyahu family and the director of the Likud election campaign in 2019; Jonatan Urich, who served at the time as a strategic adviser and a senior official in Likud’s election campaign staff; and Yisrael Einhorn, who served as a Likud spokesman.

Golan and Urich still work in similar positions.

The State Attorney’s Office said State Attorney Amit Aisman had decided to file the indictment, which carries a potential three-year prison sentence, following several hearings held with the suspects in recent months.

Golan and Urich denounced Aisman for having taken nearly six years to file the charges and noted that the prosecutor in the State Attorney’s office who initially dealt with the case had recommended it be closed. Their attorney, Amit Hadad, said the prosecutor had said the three men would be acquitted if the case went to trial.

According to the State Attorney’s Office, the prosecutor had recommended closing the case due to questions surrounding the admissibility of evidence relating to how it was gathered by the police, but said prosecutors believe there is still enough for a conviction.

In 2019, Netanyahu was under investigation for wrongdoing during the three years he served as communications minister, in addition to serving as prime minister, between 2014 and 2017. Netanyahu appointed Shlomo (Momo) Filber to serve as the director general of the ministry, who went on to turn state witness against him.

Netanyahu was ultimately indicted for what became known as Case 4000, one of three cases in which the premier is currently on trial.

According to the indictment filed Tuesday, Golan, Urich, and Einhorn jointly came up with a plan to harass Filber while the investigation against Netanyahu was underway.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/3-senior-netanyahu-aides-indicted-for-witness-intimidation-in-pms-corruption-cases/