Itongadol.- Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman was acquitted by a three-judge panel of the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday in the fraud and breach of trust trial against him.
Since Liberman was indicted in December 2012, Israeli politics have been on pause (the post of foreign minister has been held in trust for him) to learn the fate of one of the most dominant forces of the last decade.
Liberman addressed the media upon leaving the courtroom, saying that "this issue is behind me, I don\’t want to deal with it anymore. I want to focus on new challenges." He refused to answer questions about his political future and a possible return to his post of foreign minister following the acquittal.
The lead attorney for the State, Michal Sibel said that the state believed it had sufficient evidence to convict Liberman, but the court thought otherwise. The State Attorney\’s Office said that it would study the decision, adding that no discussion of an appeal was being held at this point.
Many are predicting that with his acquittal his popularity will be further boosted, and he will immediately return to the post of foreign minister.
A great deal was at stake for Liberman and the Israeli political establishment in the outcome of the legal saga.
Had he been convicted with a finding of moral turpitude, his resignation as foreign minister would be made permanent, he would have been forced to resign from the Knesset, and he would have been banned from political life for seven years.