Photo by Kobi Richter/TPS

The police stated that following an investigation conducted by its Lahav 433 Unit it arrested the head of Israel’s Bar Association Effi Naveh on suspicion that he exploited his power to influence the process of appointing judges.

According to the suspicions, Naveh used his power to promote the appointment of a single judge while he was subject to a conflict of interests and while committing an offence and also attempted to influence the promotion of a judge to the District Court while committing an offense, but the promotion failed. A senior female lawyer was involved in this failed attempt.

Naveh was brought before a judge on Wednesday evening and was then released to house arrest until Jan. 23.

The magistrate under suspicion was also questioned on suspicion that before her appointment, she was involved in an attempt to illegally promote her promotion as a magistrate to the District Court.

The court ruled Wednesday night that the judge and senior lawyer did not commit an offense, and released them under restrictive conditions, including a five-day house arrest.

In the course of the investigation, the police took statements from a number of witnesses, including three members of the Judicial Appointments Committee, and conducted searches at a number of sites, including at the Bar Association’s offices.

The police noted that contrary to the rumors and unfounded information that has spread in recent days on social networks, the material collected does not raise suspicions about the appointment of other judges.

The investigation is accompanied by the Central District prosecutor’s office and is supervised by the State Attorney.

All other details related to the investigation have been placed under a gag order.