Assistant-Chief Meni Binyamin, head of Lahav 433, was released after seven hours of detention and interrogation on Sunday as part of an investigation linking him to a possible breach of trust and misuse of official authority, his attorney, Uri Korb, said.
"The Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department (PID) chose this evening to violate the law, to detain and then even unlawfully arrest Binyamin,” claimed Korb and added: “Investigators physically attacked my client this evening during a counseling session where we were discussing whether to agree to sign release conditions that the officials suddenly requested."
Korb assured that the demand to sign off on the conditions was “illegitimate” given that he had previously been released without having to sign anything, and that, despite this, they agreed to sign everything outside the prohibition to meet his commanding officer.
The attorney also stated that his request to speak to Binyamin after five hours of interrogation was rejected, adding that “all boundaries were crossed during these interrogations, to the point that an external intervention is required.”
He also protested that Binyamin was falsely assured the interrogation would take “about an hour,” and that he was not offered anything to drink or eat while detained by the PID.
Police investigate head of Lahav 433 for breach of trust
Binyamin’s investigation on suspicion of breach of trust and abuse of power was opened by the PID on November 13, when he was detained and questioned for the first time.
The investigation concerns alleged professional misconduct, though the precise nature of the suspicions remains under judicial confidentiality.
The accusations were made as he led one of the largest investigations conducted by Yamar North, the “Ocean” undercover operation, which ran for about a year and resulted in the largest volume of arrests and extensive weapons seizures.
Sarah Ben-Nun, Efrat Porsher, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.