The High Court of Justice on Monday dismissed a petition by the Lavi organization against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over reports that she restricted the investigation of Arab MKs and their parliamentary aides in the election-fraud probe.
The petition, filed by attorneys Yitzhak Bam and Avishag Schwartz, asked the court to urgently lift the restrictions reportedly placed on the investigation into suspected fraud and foreign interference in the elections for the 26th Knesset.
At its center were media reports that Baharav-Miara instructed the Shin Bet not to question MKs’ parliamentary aides without her approval, on the grounds that the immunity granted to MKs also extends to their staff.
Lavi said it first wrote to the attorney general demanding clarification and asking that the investigation be allowed to proceed. When it received no substantive response, it turned to the High Court.
“Not enough to rely on media reports”
A panel of Justices Yael Willner, Alex Stein and Ruth Ronen dismissed the petition outright, ruling that Lavi had not exhausted its options with the attorney general before going to court. Waiting just three days for her response, they said, was not enough under the circumstances.
Writing for the panel, Justice Ronen added that media reports, even when the attorney general has not denied them, are not sufficient proof that the decisions attributed to her were actually made.
Lavi had argued that the matter was urgent because the law allows only 14 days to file an appeal against election results. Any delay in clarifying the suspicions, it said, could undermine the ability to use the investigation’s findings in such an appeal.
The justices were not persuaded, noting that a request to extend the deadline for an election appeal can be filed under appropriate circumstances.
