Serious affair exposed: Lawyer and 4 suspects arrested for inducing minors to give false testimony
A covert investigation has uncovered an alleged attempt to influence a trial involving serious security-related crimes through bribery and threats against minors.
A lawyer and four other suspects were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of inducing minors to give false testimony. According to the investigation, the parties involved attempted to create an alibi for a defendant accused of serious security-related crimes in order to secure an acquittal.
The investigation, conducted over recent months by the Central Unit (Yamar) of the Central District, focuses on a lawyer representing a defendant who was indicted in January for serious security offenses, including a terrorist act, arson, and weapons manufacturing in Ramle.
According to police, the lawyer approached investigators in May, claiming to possess evidence that could exonerate her client. The materials were forwarded to the State Attorney's Office, but police developed suspicions regarding their source, the method of acquisition, and the timing of their submission, leading to the launch of a covert investigation.
Findings suggest that the lawyer, along with other suspects including members of the defendant's family, pressured several minors and their parents in the central region to provide false testimony claiming the defendant was with them at the time of the crimes. Police suspect that some minors were offered money, while others were subjected to pressure and threats if they refused to cooperate.
Following the transition of the investigation to the overt stage, officers from the Yamar Central District arrested the lawyer, a resident of the central region in her 30s, along with four other suspects, including members of the defendant's family and residents of Ramle. On Wednesday, police are expected to bring all suspects before the Magistrate's Court in Rishon LeZion to request an extension of their detention.
