Last update - 00:00 05/11/2006
Prosecutors move to keep wiretap material from Ramon's lawyers
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
Prosecutors have asked Public Security Minister Avi Dichter to classify some of the material obtained through wiretaps employed during a sexual harassment investigation into former justice minister Haim Ramon, thereby enabling them to refuse to give the material to Ramon's attorneys.
Dichter's office confirmed that such a request had been received, but declined to say whether the minister was likely to accede.
Thus far, the defense has received only a small portion of the transcripts - five conversations, out of more than 100 that were recorded. These include four out of a total of 93 recorded phone calls to or from the complainant, a female soldier, and one out of 21 calls to or from the complainant's commanding officer.
However, Ramon's attorneys claim that even this limited material supports their charge that the prosecution and police were persecuting their client, and they are eager to see the rest. They also believe that the material would aid them in cross-examining the complainant - who has already testified, but could be summoned to the stand again if the judges agree that the new material is relevant.
In addition to the complainant and her commander, police also wiretapped the conversations of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office manager, Shula Zaken. None of these conversations have been given to the defense.
The wiretaps were part of an effort to determine whether attempts had been made to obstruct the investigation of Ramon by pressuring the complainant not to file a complaint. However, when the wiretaps failed to produce anything significant during the first 24 hours, they were removed.
Nevertheless, in a letter to Ramon's attorneys, prosecutor Ariela Segal-Anteler denied that these wiretaps existed. Only later did the prosecution admit the lie, claiming that it withheld the information because it considered the wiretaps irrelevant to Ramon's case.
The prosecution continues to deny that the wiretaps were illegal, saying they were authorized by Tel Aviv District Court President Uri Goren. It has promised to give Ramon's attorneys both the police application and Goren's decision in the coming days.
Several uninvolved lawyers who were questioned about the affair said that they did not think the prosecution's lie was sufficient to get the indictment thrown out, and Ramon's lawyers said they do not intend to try, as this would only prolong the trial.
But the uninvolved lawyers also defended the prosecution, saying they were certain that it had acted in good faith, out of a desire to conceal the wiretapping of Olmert's office manager, and had not intended to harm Ramon.
"Certainly, when you hear that the prosecution concealed material, it sounds grave and dramatic, but it could well be that this was an innocent mistake," said one defense attorney, Sasi Gez. "I don't see what the state could gain from hiding this material."
"This happens a lot, that the prosecution thinks certain material is not relevant to the investigation," agreed attorney Avi Heimi. "They may have made a mistake, but there were no evil intentions here."
Ramon's trial resumes on Monday.