After an extended remand: Magistrate Court released some copies of “Torat HaMelech”

Sunday, May 8 18:26 The Rishon LeTzion Magistrate Court sat in judgment this morning on the request of the Unit of International Crime Investigations to extend the “remand” of the copies of “Torat HaMelech” that were confiscated approximately ten months ago.
Thirty six copies of the book were confiscated approximately ten months ago during a raid by police detectives from the Unit of International Crime Investigations. In the home of Rav Yitzhak Shapira, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai, two copies of the suspicious book were found, at the yeshiva itself 33 copies of the book were found belonging to students, and in the home of the publisher of the book one copy of the book was found in a bookcase.
Honenu attorney Adi Kedar, who represented the owners of the books, pleaded in the deliberation, that the investigation was not proceeding and that an charge sheet did not appear to be forthcoming. Additionally, the opinion that ruled that the book contains incitement to racism was filed by attorney Shai Nitzan, who is not authorized to do so. As a result, Honenu attorney Kedar pleaded that there is no reason to continue the confiscation of the books.
Additionally, the owners of the books confiscated from Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai have not been given any opportunity to state their claims and they have not been included as respondents.
A representative of the police even claimed during the deliberation that the books were confiscated from the library of the yeshiva and not from individual students, which stands in contradiction to the video recorded during the confiscation in which the detectives are seen confiscating books from the students’ shelves. Names of the students are even written in the books, but despite this the police have not bothered to inform them of the deliberation and include them as respondents.
Judge Rafi Arniyah ruled that the request concerning the 33 copies of the confiscated books from the study hall of the yeshiva was filed illegally and therefore he ordered it stricken from the record and the books released. In the event that the police file a revised request during the coming week, an additional deliberation will take place.
Concerning the books confiscated from the home of Rav Shapira, the court ruled that they were legally confiscated and they would remain in custody for a year from the day of their confiscation.
The court ordered the book confiscated from the home of the publisher returned as there is no evidence that he intended to distribute the book.
The court delayed the carrying out of the decision for three days at the request of a representative from the Unit of International Crime Investigations. It should be noted that approximately two and a half months ago there was a similar deliberation in which the continued custody of the books by the police was extended.