Attorney General tells Constitution Committee that law enforcement system works consistently and objectively, protecting freedom of the press.
Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, spoke about the issue of investigating journalists at a session of the Constitution Committee on Sunday morning.
Baharav-Miara clarified that she would not address pending investigations and commented that, “a list of questions was forwarded to us prior to the discussion on the issue of investigating journalists, which included questions that pertain to pending investigations, as well as baseless assumptions. It would have been better if these questions had not been written down.”
Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, spoke about the issue of investigating journalists at a session of the Constitution Committee on Sunday morning.
Baharav-Miara’s remarks caused an outrage among members of the Constitution Committee and led to arguments between coalition and opposition members.
The chairman of the Constitution Committee, MK Simcha Rothman, responded to her remarks saying, “It is disrespectful that you started by saying that there is no selective enforcement,” and rebuked her, saying that, “questions from Knesset members are rated, even if they are about the Attorney General.”
Earlier, Baharav-Miara emphasized that, “Contrary to the title of this discussion, there is no selective enforcement; the law enforcement system operates consistently and objectively, according to known standards that are applied on a case-by-case basis.”
She added that, “The system takes great caution in dealing with activities that could harm the freedom of expression and the press. The policy is limited,” and clarified that, “we are always focused on the freedom of journalists’ action. We do not allow journalists to be harmed on a criminal level, in matters related to the core of their journalistic work.”
MK Limor Son Har-Melech and other MKs fired questions at Baharav-Miara. Son Har-Melech responded: “She didn’t say anything, she didn’t say anything, just empty slogans.”
