The Department of Police Investigations in the State Attorney’s Office lifted this morning (Tuesday) the gag order regarding an investigation conducted in recent months against Chief Superintendent Avishai Mualem, commander of the YMR Shai unit, another officer from the same district whose name is yet to be released, and Chief Warden Kobi Yakobi, Israel Prison Service Commissioner.
Following a covert investigation and based on the gathered evidence, it was decided to initiate an open investigation into all suspects for offenses of obstructing justice and breach of integrity.
Negligent and Intentional Handling of Extreme Right Activists’ Cases
The Police Investigation Department (PID) stated that Chief Superintendent Avishai Mualem, together with another officer from the same district, during his role as Acting Commander of YMR Shai and upon his appointment to this permanent position, engaged in unusual actions aimed at influencing their promotion within the Israel Police, deviating from the norms concerning the handling of nationalist crime cases. The investigation focuses on these actions and not on the suspects’ professional judgment. It was published in Israel Hayom that suspicion arose that the two handled cases involving extreme right activists negligently and intentionally, where investigative actions were required at the request of the Shin Bet.
Chief Warden Kobi Yakobi is suspected of receiving sensitive information from police sources regarding a covert investigation against Mualem and unlawfully passing this information to Mualem. Yakobi is suspected to have received the information from another senior police officer. PID sources indicated that these were revealed during wiretaps conducted on the case.
The investigation, managed by the Exposure Team in the Police Investigations Department, is ongoing.
