The Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court on Wednesday lifted the house arrest of Yonatan Urich, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aide, who is among the suspects in the Qatar-gate scandal.
Judge Menachem Mizrahi ruled that Urich would remain under "human arrest," a legal format that allows free motion in public as long as he is accompanied by one of the approved guarantors.
Following the ruling, the police asked to delay the decision by 24 hours to allow them to appeal the decision to the district court.
During the hearing, Judge Mizrahi stated: "There is no logic in the suspect remaining under house arrest. I will not leave him there like a discarded stone. The investigation is based on the claim that Urich is a public servant – but the evidence points to the opposite conclusion."
Three weeks ago, Mizrahi released Urich from house arrest, but appeals to the District Court and then the Supreme Court changed the decision, and he remained under house arrest.
Judge Mizrahi even wrote in his ruling that "a court that cares about individual rights can not approve the police's request."