- The fight against public corruption is important and valuable, and is an integral part of the functions of the police and the State Attorney's Office. At the same time, it cannot be accepted that the aforementioned importance will serve as a basis for unfair, improper conduct, and one that tramples on the rights of the suspects. The State Attorney's Office is not a "regular" party in a legal proceeding, but rather a party acting on behalf of the public, and is entrusted with the public interest in all its aspects. Safeguarding the rights of interrogees, ensuring proper documentation, and effectively supervising the investigative bodies lest they take improper steps are an inherent part of the role of the State Attorney's Office, and it seems that in this case, the boundaries between the investigative body and the body accompanying the investigation, the same body that could have been expected to check, supervise, and ensure that the investigation is conducted within acceptable boundaries, in accordance with the principles of the law and the rulings of the Supreme Court.
Implications of the Defendant's Interrogation
The Argument for the Applicability of "Protection from Justice"
- In the summaries of the defense, it was argued that the conduct of the investigative bodies was sufficient in order to establish a factual and legal basis for the "defense of justice", and thus to order the cancellation of the indictment.
Even though this is a weighty argument, which in other circumstances should have been examined in depth, I did not see fit to address it, for two reasons:
First, the defendant's version in the police is the one that was later given both in the response to the indictment and in his testimony in court, so that in any case, its main points must be addressed, and there is no real evidentiary significance to the disqualification of the statement.
Second, as will be clarified below, I found that the version given by the defendant (in the police and at trial) is true, and that the amount of money he transferred to Ben-Eliezer was given as a loan against the background of deep friendships, and in view of Ben-Eliezer's medical condition.