Rabbi in prison: "Rabbi questioned about his contacts with Domrani"

"Rabbi Yoram Abergel was not supposed to be arrested last night," according to details of the investigation which has been exciting the media since this morning (Sunday).

According to police representative in a hearing to extend the detention of the detainees, Elisha, an aide to the rabbi, was arrested and interrogated on Saturday night at around 18:00. He was asked about the relationship between him and Shalom Domrani, and a conversation they held on election day, and which Rabbi Abergel did not know about.

To the question of attorneys Menachem Rubinstein and Yoram Aboav, police representative said that the rabbi was supposed to be investigated in a covert investigation on the first or second day of the arrest. However, during the investigation Elisha was asked about Rabbi Abergel, and replied that Rabbi is leaving at night for a few days abroad, a decision was made to arrest him, without issuing a warrant of detention.

The Rabbi was interrogated for four hours, in which general suspicions against him were thrown at him. The Rabbi gave his version – which according to the police in many respects is inconsistent with the evidence in its possession. Among other things, Rabbi Abergel was asked about the extent of familiarity between him and Domrani, and his actions on election day.

According to the rabbi's lawyer, he replied that he knew nothing, "I'm not involved in this matter, I am a Rosh Yeshiva, I teach, I'm not concerned with practical matters of the yeshiva, that's why I have a utility."

According to the lawyer, Elisha was questioned. "The relevant question is not what Elisha know or did not know, with whom he was in touch and with whom not, but the degree of knowledge of the Rav, did the rabbi know, was he involved or not - this the court has seen. To my knowledge he can not say the Rabbi was aware, since he was not involved in this."

Regarding elections in the city he says, "The Israeli police received of all kinds of complaints about all kinds of alleged offenses in connection with elections in the city of Netivot. This was a particularly lively campaign. I know there were complaints filed here and there, and these complaints seemed to flowed only to the unit standing here today, and there was no intention to make the arrest of the Rabbi yesterday, until yesterday he was not dangerous and not a blackmailer and there was no need to arrest him. And if not, as the police representative said, for his intentions to fly for a week, nothing would have happened and we would not be here today".

The lawyer added that, "he was questioned until late at night, taken to Tzalmon jail, he did not yet manage to place himself in jail and they bagged him and brought him here. I guess it was not done on purpose. I do not think they are bad people. Everyone is trying to do his job. I believe that they got ahead of themselves, because in my mind there are currently no police suspicions. I have not seen a request for 16-day detention for a long time. It's hard to get an impression that the timing of the arrest happening recently is not because the police wants to prove to the public that it is doing something. I would ask not to accede to the request".

Justice Menachem Mizrachi did not fully agree to the request, and extended the detention of the rabbi until 13/11/2013.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!