A senior worker at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and an activist were detained by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for four days on suspicion of espionage, Haaretz reported on Sunday.
According to the Israeli daily, the two had been detained without access to their lawyers, a move approved by a judge at the Lod District Court.
The suspicion arose after the senior PMO employee sent information to the activist who wanted to protest in front of the vehicle of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the Israeli leader's convoy, Haaretz said.
The two closely acquainted individuals denied the accusation, according to Haaretz, adding that the only evidence ascribed to them was a message the activist sent to the employee requesting that they speak in a more encrypted application than WhatsApp.
After four days, the two passed a polygraph examination successfully, after which they were moved to house arrest, Haaretz noted, adding that following two days, they were released almost without any restrictive conditions.
Judge comments
A judge at the Rishon Lezion magistrates court was cited by Haaretz as saying of the decision to release the PMO employee after six days, "The indications have diminished below the level of reasonable suspicion, and at this time, there is no longer a reasonable suspicion that the suspect committed the offenses attributed to him.
"These are minor incidents that may be relevant - emphasis on may - to the security clearance granted to the suspect, but they are not relevant and do not indicate criminal offenses."
The employee told the judge, according to the report, "I have been a member of the security establishment for two decades, and I have never had a blemish on my record."
Attorneys Gonen Ben Itzhak and Yoni Nusbaum, who represented the activist, were quoted by the Israeli daily as saying, "Without any justified reason, an innocent friendship was turned by the authorities into a serious espionage case."