Netanyahu ordered to be at trial
JERUSALEM – An Israeli court on Wednesday ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appear for the opening of his criminal trial in Jerusalem, setting the stage for a dramatic scene Sunday.
Netanyahu will enter the Jerusalem District Court surrounded by security as he becomes the first sitting Israeli prime minister to go on trial.
His attorneys asked the court for an exemption from appearing at the arraignment. They argued that his presence was “not essential” because their client had “read this indictment several times already” and that his bodyguards’ presence would violate social distancing requirements.
The court rejected the request, saying Netanyahu “must, like all other accused, appear and give his statement before the court.”
Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes.
He is accused of accepting lavish gifts from wealthy friends and offering to grant favors to powerful media moguls in exchange for favorable coverage of him and his family. Netanyahu denied wrongdoing and claimed to be the victim of a conspiracy by overaggressive police and prosecutors and a hostile media.
Netanyahu’s trial was supposed to begin last month but was delayed when his justice minister closed most of the court system due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, swore in a new government this week after the country’s third national election in under a year.