by Yehuda Shlezinger and Israel Hayom Staff
A decision to indict PM Netanyahu on corruption charges in Case 2,000 would "endanger democracy and freedom of the press," Alan Dershowitz writes in an open letter to Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, urging him to "consider the dangerous implications."
Professor Alan Dershowitz
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
A
decision to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption
charges in Case 2,000 would "endanger democracy and freedom of the
press," Professor Alan Dershowitz wrote in an open letter to Attorney
General Avichai Mendelblit on Tuesday.
Dershowitz, one of the most prominent
Jewish lawyers in the United States and in the world, posted the letter
on his Twitter page.
"Such charges would open up a Pandora's box
out of which would flow a parade of horribles: Every government
official – legislators, judges, prosecutors, police offices,
administrators – who sought positive coverage in the media, and then did
anything that helped the media, would have to be investigated,"
Dershowitz wrote.
In Case 2,000, Netanyahu allegedly
supported a law that would curtail Israel Hayom to gain fairer coverage
from its competitor Yedioth Ahronoth in a deal struck with its publisher
Arnon "Noni" Mozes. Netanyahu ultimately voted against the law, leaving
prosecutors to deal with possible motives but no real evidence.
"In the Yedioth Ahronoth matter, more than
40 Knesset and cabinet members voted in favor of the newspaper, while
[Netanyahu] effectively killed the bill and went to elections. Many of
the Knesset members then received positive coverage in Yedioth Ahronoth.
Yet they were not investigated. Only the prime minister, who killed the
bill, is being prosecuted. This disparity illustrates the enormous
discretion prosecutors have in selectively prosecuting alleged violators
of this open-ended prosecutorial tool.
"There is no limiting principle to this
open-ended intrusion of the criminal law into the delicate, and legally
protected, relationship between government officials and the media."
The letter continued: "Any such charge
would give law enforcement far too much power to dictate to the media
and to officials they cover how they relate to each other. In a
democracy, criticism of the relationship between media and government
should be left to voters, not prosecutors.
"I urge you, Mr. Attorney General, to
consider the dangerous implications for democracy and freedom of the
press if you go forward with these charges against the prime minister."
Yehuda Shlezinger and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/02/27/dershowitz-indicting-netanyahu-would-open-pandoras-box/
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