The Jerusalem District Court ejected Netanyahu's request to be absent from the reading hearing of his inditment

The Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday rejected Prime Minister Netanyahu's request to be absent from the reading hearing of his trial this Sunday, ordering him to appear as required.
Justices Rebecca Feldman Friedman, Moshe Bar-Am, and Oded Shaham did not see Netanyahu's reasoning enough to justify the exception to the law that required stabilization. According to Netanyahu, the only contribution of his presence is only to confirm that he understood the indictment, the judges wrote that they were indeed expecting this contribution and therefore the demand for his attendance is not just a matter of "respecting" the court, but the reason is relevant - to hear from the defendant that he understood the indictment.
In their decision, the justices wrote that "as far as the reading hearing is concerned, the rule is that a defendant is liable to read, which is the opening of the trial. This is the case in every criminal proceeding, as is the case in the current criminal proceeding, and we have found that there is no reason for the applicant to justify this exception."
On Sunday, Netanyahu will not be asked to respond to the indictment. His answer will probably be given in writing later, after the technical matters will be settled on Sunday - handing over the investigative materials to defense attorneys, the timescale for the defendant's response, and so on.
The judges also referred to Netanyahu's claim that due to the need for security guards to enter the court, the Ministry of Health's guidelines could not be met, and "the need to attend security guards was taken into account when deciding on the presence of security guards. The trial. "
In addition, the judges rejected defense counsel's requests to add attorneys to leave their original decision - one attorney for each defendant and one for prosecution. Here, in accordance with the instructions of the court administrator, according to the Ministry of Health guidelines, and in accordance with the "purple character" rules - and this takes into account the need to maintain public health.
"Due to the need to keep distance between those present in the courtroom, their number cannot be increased beyond what has already been determined. To the hearing hall, designated for the additional attorneys representing the parties. "