BICOM

Testimony will be presented for the first time today at the trial of former-Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who in February pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and breach of trust. The case could have large repercussions on Lieberman’s political career.

Lieberman, who remains head of the Yisrael Beitenu party, is standing trial over allegations that he failed to disclose the receipt of illicit information relating to separate allegations against him from Israel’s former ambassador to Belarus, Zeev Ben Aryeh. It is alleged that Lieberman then pushed through the appointment of Ben Aryeh as the envoy to Latvia as a reward for his actions.

Lieberman resigned as foreign minister after the charges were announced in December. However, he is entitled to remain a member of the Knesset throughout the duration of the trial. It is thought that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently filling the role of Foreign Minister himself, is effectively  saving the position for Lieberman should he be acquitted. However, should Lieberman be found guilty of charges deemed to carry moral turpitude or handed a prison sentence of three months or longer, he will be barred from running for Knesset or serving as a government minister for seven years following the completion of a potential prison sentence.

The prosecution is today expected to call Ben Aryeh himself and former Foreign Ministry inspector Victor Harel as witnesses, in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court. On 2 May, former-deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon, who was dramatically omitted by Lieberman from the Yisrael Beitenu list of Knesset candidates for January’s election, will take the stand. The defence is then expected to present its case with the trial concluding before the end of June. A verdict must then be given within thirty days.