Yonatan Urich’s legal defense team claimed on Tuesday that the State Attorney's Office violated their client's fundamental rights to receive investigation materials and evidence prior to his hearing in the so-called "Qatargate" case.
According to Urich’s attorneys, Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein, the State Attorney's Office is creating serious difficulties by refusing to hand over documents, testimonies, and visual material from the investigation, and has not yet handed over a substantive indictment, in a manner that they claim prevents proper preparation for the hearing.
It was also claimed that their request to hold the hearing before State Attorney Amit Isman, who is responsible for making the final decision in the case, was denied. “The hearing process is a fundamental right of a suspect to make his voice heard, to present his claims, and to refute the suspicions against him already at this stage,” the lawyers wrote.
Urich, a communications advisor who worked closely with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was investigated last year as part of a case that allegedly involved the leaking of classified documents.
His attorneys added that they hope the prosecution will approach the hearing process with an open heart and a willingness to hear Urich’s arguments.
The prosecutor's office argued that "all of Urich's requests have been granted, and yet for three months he has avoided scheduling a hearing.”
“These claims by Jonathan Urich form the basis of his petition to the High Court, and as stated in our detailed response to the High Court, their entire purpose is to delay the criminal proceedings and postpone the final decision on whether to prosecute him," said the response.
Qatargate prosecution is ‘rushing to file an indictment’
Over the summer, the Attorney-General announced her intention to indict Urich, subject to a hearing, on suspicion of security offenses.
In recent months, officials in the legal system have criticized the length of the investigation and the lack of clarity surrounding the grounds for suspicion.
The President of the Magistrate's Court, Judge Menachem Mizrahi, recently ruled that the prosecution is rushing to file an indictment in a case in which it is not at all clear what the offense under investigation is.