The Lod-Central District Court again overturned a lower court's ruling allowing Qatar Gate suspect Yonatan Urich to return to working at the Prime Minister's Office, restoring the ban on Urich. Urich is also banned from leaving the country for 60 days.
The Rishon Lezion Magistrate Court ruled a week ago, on September 11, that Urich should be allowed to resume his work with the PMO because the ban violated constitutional rights and the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence that Urich posed a risk to national security.
However, Judge Amit Michles of the Lod District Court stated that Urich's refusal to admit he did anything wrong raises the possibility that he could act in a similar manner to before if allowed to return to the PMO.
According to Michles, the benefits of allowing Urich to return to the PMO are limited since he would still be banned from having contact with anyone else involved in the Qatar Gate affair, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Urich was arrested earlier this year along with Eli Feldstein on suspicion of various offenses, including providing confidential information to the Bild newspaper and breach of trust in the Qatar-Gate affair. Since his release in April, various restrictions have been imposed on him, including temporary house arrest, a ban on contact with those involved in the affair, and a ban on leaving the country.
The Lod District Court previously overturned a lower court ruling allowing Urich to return to the PMO last month