Third “remand extension” – Copies of “Torat HaMelech” will remain in the hands of the police

Wednesday, July 13, 2011, 20:05 At the Rishon LeTzion Magistrate Court a deliberation took place on the morning of Wednesday, July 13 on the request of the police to extend the time during which copies of “Torat HaMelech” that were confiscated during raids carried out a year ago would remain in the hand of the police.
The books were confiscated from Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai, the home of HaRav Yitzhak Shapira, head of Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai and author of the book and from the home of someone suspected by the police of working on the graphic design of the book.
In the past “remands” of the books were extended after the representative from the National Unit of Serious and International Crime Investigations, police commander Yishai Cohen, claimed that the investigation was not yet complete because HaRav Lior and HaRav Ya’akov Yosef had not presented themselves for investigation.
During the past two weeks the aforementioned rabbis were detained and interrogated.
During the deliberation this morning police commander Cohen claimed that the case was transferred to the State Attorney’s office only a few days ago and therefore the police are requesting an extension of 180 days during which the books will remain in the hands of the police, until it is decided if a charge sheet will be filed on the issue.
During the deliberation Honenu attorney Adi Kedar, who represented the owners of the books, said that the conduct of the National Unit of Serious and International Crime Investigations, who claimed that the the books confiscated from Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai were books intended for distribution, is very problematic being as documentation of the search proves that a clear majority of the books confiscated were taken from the personal shelves and cabinets of the students.
During the previous deliberation one of the books was returned to its owner after it became clear that it belonged to a private individual and was not intended for distribution.
Judge Rafi Arniya criticized the police for their slowness in investigating the case. The judge wrote in his decision that the central factual question in the case is a judicial one and it is strange to him that the case reached the State Attorney’s office for consideration only a few days ago.
Despite that, Judge Arniya decided that the books would remain in the hands of the police for an additional three and a half months in order to allow the State Attorney’s office adequate time to determine whether or not an indictment will be filed on the case.