Elovitch tells judge: Investigators trying to break me
In an emotional plea to the court, Bezeq majority shareholder asks for release from custody, saying investigators were trying to get him to 'admit to something I have never done'; ISA says Elovitch is suspected of receiving up to NIS 1 billion in bribes.
"Until yesterday, the investigation was conducted under the investigators' attempts to break my spirit, harming my soul, and even to the point of harming my health," Elovitch, who has been under arrest since last week, told the new presiding judge, Alaa Masarwa, in an emotional plea. "Every evening when I returned to the jail, I went to the medic for checkup and blood pressure tests."
Elovitch claimed investigators were trying to get him to "admit to something I have never done," but said he vowed "that I would not lie or admit to something I didn't do, even if I fall and get a heart attack."
His attorney, Jack Chen, then stated that "his world has been destroyed. He has been brought to a remand extention hearing under disgraceful conditions not appropriate for a democratic state."
Chen claimed investigators threatened Elovitch in an effort to break him mentally, telling him "you will spend (the rest of) your life in prison. And if not there, then when you're released, you will be a supermarket guard at best."
He also claimed that errors had been made in the investigation, with investigators attributing obstruction of justice to his client. A police representative addressed this claim, responding that the errors the attorney mentioned were technical ones, which did not affect their conclusions.
A representative of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), Yehudit Tirosh, said "a confidential document brought before the court" shows that "Elovitch has proven in his actions that he cannot be trusted" to be let out of detention.
Among other things, she said, Elovitch is suspected of receiving up to NIS 1 billion in bribes.
After Elovitch, the court heard a request from Nir Hefetz, a former media adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hefetz's attorney chimed in, saying both his client and Elovitch deserved, by law, a fair hearing on the extension of their remands, which they didn't get.
Tirosh, though, remained adamant, noting that Hefetz "is suspected of serious offenses of corruption and breach of trust. Ostensibly he is a sophisticated person; the fact that (he) does not give his version of events and gives irrelevant answers to our questions is considered as noncooperation."
As for the released correspondence, Tirosh stated that "if it becomes clear that anything problematic did occur (between the judge and the prosecutor—ed), it will be looked into."
When Tirosh finished speaking, Hefetz rose and pled his case, saying, "I'd like to outline to the court my feelings regarding my rights being curtailed. I have been trampled in Case 4000 and Case 1270 (concerning the alleged offer to appoint Judge Gerstel to attorney general in return for closing investigations against Sara Netanyahu—ed).
"Your honor presided over two remand hearings and I don't have a shred of criticism. On the contrary: I saw how the court examined (matters) thoroughly and asked police what it was doing. What the court didn't know was that the police simply bamboozled it.
"In my six days (of detention) I was asked two or three technical questions on Case 1270, and if it wasn't for media publications, I would not have known until this very moment what I was accused of, who I met, what I offered and so on.
"I wish to remind the judge that suspicions (against me) in Case 1270 are at least as serious as the ones in Case 4000—on which I was released (Sunday) without conditions. Everything I told your honor is happening in light of something else: I have met 30 different investigators so far. The passion against me is unbelievable. It's imaginary.
"I've been asked dozens of times to tell stories about people and admit to stories that never happened about people. I ask the court to examine this very well. I believe I'm innocent of any wrongdoing. I still have the right to the presumption of innocence and ask for something to remain of my rights."
Attorney Yaron Kostelitz, Hefetz's representation, also commented on the correspondence between Judge Poznanski-Katz and Shacham-Shavit, and said, "I don't see a possibility to return Mr. Hefetz to custody after learning of the words exchanged between an investigator and the judge.
"There is no denying the arrest itself—which was nine days long—is illegal. If my client is not summarily released under these circumstances, I can't see anyone ever being released under the claim of abuse of process."
Eli Kamir's attorney Sharon Kleiman also commented on the texts, and claimed it was "a flaw that amounted to a decisive consideration to aborting his arrest. What we heard yesterday strengthened our feeling that there was no justification for a one-week arrest on Case 1270—a specific case dealing with a conversation between two people.
"There was no suspicion or indication of tampering. Eli Kamir is not the majority shareholder of Bezeq, nor is he an executive or a civil servant. He's an advisor."
