Court rejects Netanyahu’s request to ban screening of leaked police interrogations

 The Jerusalem District Court yesterday rejected a request by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ban the screening of video clips from police interrogations with him, his wife Sara and son Yair.

‘The Bibi Files’ screened in Canada at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) yesterday evening and includes leaked footage of Netanyahu’s interrogation by police between 2016 and 2018 on suspicions of corruption that have since yielded charges.

Netanyahu cannot prevent the film from being screened at the TIFF, but he asked the court to ban screenings from being held in Israel.

The prime minister’s lawyer claimed in the urgent request that one of the documentary’s producers is Channel 13 journalist Raviv Drucker, who “has publicly stated that he is a political opponent of the prime minister and seeks to end his term and cross red lines.”

“Drucker has for years made cynical, instrumental use” of Netanyahu’s corruption interrogation to hurt him politically.

“The fact that the publication is set to take place abroad makes no difference in this matter,” the complaint added.

The film is produced by Oscar-winning Alex Gibney and directed by Alexis Bloom. The video recordings include extensive visual and audio material from police interrogations with Netanyahu, his wife, his son, friends and associates, as well as employees at the prime minister’s official residence, Variety Magazine reported last week.

“These recordings shed light on Netanyahu’s character in an unprecedented and extraordinary way,” Gibney was quoted as saying by the magazine. “They are powerful evidence of his corrupt and venal character and how he led us to where we are now.”

Netanyahu is entangled in four political scandals: Case 1000 which involves allegations that the PM and his wife accepted illegal gifts from businessmen; Case 2000 which accuses Netanyahu of attempting to buy favourable newspaper coverage; Case 3000, also known as the “submarine scandal” would have seen Israel purchase naval vessels and submarines from a German firm with millions of shekels allegedly “skimmed” off the top of the deals for personal profit; and Case 4000, in which a close associate of Netanyahu is suspected of providing confidential information to Israel’s largest telecoms company.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240910-court-rejects-netanyahus-request-to-ban-screening-of-leaked-police-interrogations/