Haim Pearlman. Suspected terrorist
Photo courtesy of Channel 2 News
Attorney Sharon Nahari. 'Inconceivable'
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Appeal by 'Jewish terrorist' to meet lawyer denied
Petah Tikva District Court rules Haim Pearlman, suspected of murdering four Arabs, will not be allowed to meet with his attorneys. His lawyer says decision illogical. Additional suspect, David Sitbon, also blocked from meeting with legal counsel
Petah Tikva District Court rejected on Wednesday the appeal submitted by alleged Jewish terrorist Haim Pearlman, suspected of murdering four Arabs in Jerusalem and another seven attempted murders, against the ban against him meeting with his lawyer.
Another suspect arrested in the affair, David Sitbon, has also been denied meeting with his legal counsel, a ban that was also upheld in court on Wednesday.
Basic Rights
Aviad Glickman
Justice Edmond Levy rebukes State Prosecutor's Office, Shin Bet for failing to bring 'Jewish terrorist', other suspect to court hearing. Prosecutor: It was a misunderstanding
Ever since his arrest more than a week ago, Pearlman has not met with his lawyer for consultation. Following a Shin Bet request, he will continue to be separated from his lawyer at this stage of the investigation.
Pearlman's lawyer, Attorney Sharon Nahari, represented him during the appeal submitted to the district court against the Petah Tikva Magistrates' Court decision to prohibit them from meeting.
Nahari said during the hearing, "It is inconceivable that in 2010 a suspect will be detained for a week without being granted to right to meet with his lawyer to consult with him. A meeting between a lawyer and a suspect is the Holy of Holies of the right to legal representation in the State of Israel. This right is a guiding principle of ours."
During the hearing, Nahari said that claims of suspicions that Pearlman my disrupt investigation proceedings are relevant only for the first two or three days of a suspect's detainment, but are no longer applicable once the suspect has been in remand for more than a week.
The State was represented during the hearing by the State Prosecutor, who presented a confidential report to the judge and asked that the appeal be rejected. Justice Tal Shahar complied.
A number of right-wing activists present in the hearing protested against the ban imposed on Pearlman from meeting his lawyer. They claimed that such a ban has no place in a democratic country. "This is not a democracy. Here, there is a different regime," one of them said.
Pearlman's wife also participated in the hearing. Similar to the hearing on the extension of his remand, a separate hearing was held at the end of the deliberations in the presence of only Pearlman. His wife tried to yell to him from the other side of the door, "I am strong. It will be okay."
Pearlman, 30, a right-wing activist and father of three, is suspected of carrying out a number of assaults against Palestinians 12 years ago in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem in what was deemed then the "serial stabber case."
He says the Shin Bet framed him because he refused to serve as its informant. "They fabricated the whole thing, just like in the 'Truman Show'. They are trying to frame me. That's what I think," he told Channel 2.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
