Israeli judge orders Netanyahu to appear in court
The Israeli prime minister's request for postponement has been rejected and his corruption trial is set to begin next week.
After a Jerusalem district court judge rejected Benjamin Netanyahu's request to postpone his corruption trial, the embattled Israeli prime minister is scheduled to appear in court next week as a defendant.
On Tuesday, Judge Rivkah Friedman-Feldman dismissed Netanyahu’s request for a 45-day delay in the court proceedings. The prime minister’s legal team had requested the postponement on the grounds that it needed more time to review the evidence requested from the state prosecutor.
“There are no grounds for justifying the postponement of the hearing,” Friedman-Feldman said, according to The Times of Israel.
Netanyahu, the country’s first sitting prime minister to be tried in court, was indicted in November on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The investigation alleges Netanyahu accepted lavish gifts from wealthy businessmen and offered regulatory favors to media tycoons in exchange for favorable media coverage.
