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Photo: Gil Yohanan
MK Tzipi Livni
Photo: Gil Yohanan

Knesset to hold discussion on Yedioth Books raid

Knesset committee to discuss police search of Yedioth Books pertaining to former PM Ehud Olmert's alleged illegal publishing of classified info. MK Livni, who asked for discussion: 'We do not know the considerations that justified these dramatic steps.'

The Knesset on Monday approved a motion by MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) to hold a quick discussion in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the matter of the search in Yedioth Books, which took place following former prime minister Ehud Olmert's allegedly illegal use of censored state secrets in the writing of his book.

 

 

"A raid on the publishing house of a newspaper in Israel is an exceptional step in its severity and is inconsistent with the fact that in any case, every book that deals with the secrets of the State of Israel undergoes many tests and censorship before publication," Livni explained in her request for the discussion.

 

MK Tzipi Livni (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
MK Tzipi Livni (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

 

Last week, the court ruled that the police are now obliged to return all documentation not connected to Olmert, as well as documents pertaining to chapters in Olmert’s book, with the exception of those relating to two of the chapters that are currently being examined for possible removal of confidential material.

 

The police conducted two searches of Yedioth Books, the first of which resulted in the confiscation of more than 11,000 emails. However, according to a police representative, a technical malfunction had occurred on the disk on which the correspondence had been copied, preventing the investigators from reading it. Consequently, the disk was destroyed. In the second raid, only 30 emails were taken for examination by the police.

 

The judge who ruled that the material be returned asked the state to take into consideration the ramifications of the raid on the publishers' office, which could undermine the freedom of expression and the protection of journalistic sources if the seized materials are not returned. Future writers of books on similar topics, Yedioth's legal team stated, would in such a case be afraid to write books based on security information.

 

(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.26.17, 18:20
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