By a vote of 27-7, the Knesset plenum in the early hours of Friday morning passed a government-sponsored bill which enshrines in primary legislation the arrangement according to which a civilian court, as well as a military court, will be authorized to order the arrest of a suspect or extend his or her detention, even if the investigation of their case cannot be advanced in light of the health risks involved in interrogating someone who has contracted the coronavirus, or is in quarantine due to the corona disease.
The arrangement relates to a crucial suspect or witness. The bill, an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law, states that a judge may order an arrest under these circumstances only after he/she has been convinced of its justification and has carefully considered the severity of the offense, the expected delay in the progress of the investigation and the harm caused to the suspect.
The explanatory notes attached to the bill state that the emergency regulations issued by the Health Ministry regarding social distancing and quarantine make it virtually impossible to “carry out investigative activities that demand the participation of people who are required to be in isolation without endangering those who come in close contact with them – such as holding confrontations and transporting (suspects or witnesses).”
In some cases, according to the bill, mainly when severe offenses or security offenses are involved, effective frontal interrogation cannot be conducted when the person who is required to be in quarantine and the interrogator, or interrogators, are wearing protective face masks, “this due to the need to carry out the interrogation for an extended period of time and due to the need to see facial expressions and physical reactions, and create direct communication.”