Attorneys petition court over release of Winograd Committee findings

The military defense attorney's office will on Tuesday issue a petition to the High Court of Justice requesting they require the Winograd Committee to issue preliminary warnings to those individuals who are likely to be damaged by the committee's findings.

The warning is generally a code for the possibility that the person or persons under suspicion may be indicted or forced to resign for the alleged offenses.

Also included in the petition will be a request to issue an interim order to forbid the publishing of the report's findings before deliberations on the petition are over.

The Movement for Responsible Government petitioned the court at the beginning of last week to require the commission include in their findings recommendations regarding the actions of specific individuals.

The military defense attorney's office has stated that it has no standing on the matter of whether there is a need for personal conclusions and recommendations in the report, only that they will include stipulations that will protect the right of those criticized in the report's findings.

The High Court will retain the decisive authority to rule on steps to be taken in regard to the committee's findings, which are set to be released by the end of the year.

If the High Court implements the right of individuals to defend themselves against the committee's findings, the release of the report will be delayed. In such an instance, members of the committee will likely consider resigning from their posts.