Aryeh Deri, the former Shas party leader and ex-Interior Minister currently serving a three-year prison term for accepting bribes - charges that he continues to hotly deny - testified in the Jerusalem Magistrates Court this morning. The case at issue is known as the \"public Deri trial,\" as opposed to the \"private Deri trial\" which ended in his conviction. The current trial involves charges that Deri diverted Interior Ministry funds to institutions associated with the Shas party. Many security guards are protecting the courtroom, but only several dozen Deri-supporters arrived.
In his testimony, Deri explained how the Interior Ministry distributed funds to local town councils before his arrival there as Director-General and then as Minister. He said that he introduced many changes in the system, and said that he actually gave \"too little\" to Shas institutions. Deri did not deny the charges against him, but said only that what he did was legal. His former aide Eliezer Kayin told Arutz-7\'s Effie Meir today, \"Instead of making the earlier Interior Ministers stand trial for not helping these underprivileged classes, they accuse the one who did help.\" Another supporter said that what Deri did was a \"great mitzvah [good deed] - to give to the yeshivot what the Kibbutzim received for years...\"
In his testimony, Deri explained how the Interior Ministry distributed funds to local town councils before his arrival there as Director-General and then as Minister. He said that he introduced many changes in the system, and said that he actually gave \"too little\" to Shas institutions. Deri did not deny the charges against him, but said only that what he did was legal. His former aide Eliezer Kayin told Arutz-7\'s Effie Meir today, \"Instead of making the earlier Interior Ministers stand trial for not helping these underprivileged classes, they accuse the one who did help.\" Another supporter said that what Deri did was a \"great mitzvah [good deed] - to give to the yeshivot what the Kibbutzim received for years...\"