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Court tells sharon to yield documents { March 30 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/30/international/middleeast/30MIDE.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/30/international/middleeast/30MIDE.html
March 30, 2004
Court Tells Sharon's Son to Yield Documents
By GREG MYRE
ERUSALEM, March 29 — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered another setback on Monday when the Israeli Supreme Court ordered his son to hand over documents in two separate corruption investigations that involve Mr. Sharon.
The court decision came a day after a state prosecutor recommended that the attorney general indict Mr. Sharon on charges that he accepted bribes from a real estate developer, according to Israeli news reports.
Mr. Sharon has not been charged with any crime, and he has denied wrongdoing. But political rivals are calling for Mr. Sharon to step aside temporarily or resign. Even some of Mr. Sharon's own Cabinet members say he should quit if he is indicted.
"The prime minister can't lead the country because he's under tremendous pressure," Yossi Sarid, a liberal legislator and a harsh critic of Mr. Sharon, told Israeli television. "The accusations against the prime minister are the most severe ones."
Mr. Sharon, who has a long history of surviving controversies, appeared before a closed session of the foreign affairs and defense committee in Parliament. He did not comment publicly on the legal developments, but lawmakers quoted Mr. Sharon as saying he was still capable of doing his job properly. "I don't have the slightest doubt," Ehud Olmert, the deputy prime minister, told Israel radio. "Sharon will continue to be prime minister."
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's decision on whether to indict Mr. Sharon is not expected for several weeks, perhaps even a couple of months. If Mr. Sharon is indicted, he would face heavy pressure to resign. Legal analysts say is not entirely clear whether Mr. Sharon would be required to resign solely because of an indictment.
The legal questions arise at a time when the Middle East violence grinds on and Mr. Sharon is contemplating important Israeli actions, like a unilateral withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
In its ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that Mr. Sharon's son, Gilad, must produce documents like bank records in the two corruption investigations.
Investigators contend that Gilad Sharon has, or has access to, important documents. Gilad Sharon's lawyer, Micha Fettman, said that his client did not have the papers the police were seeking but that he would cooperate with authorities.
In one inquiry known as the Greek Island Affair, investigators are trying to determine whether Ariel Sharon was being bribed when a wealthy Israeli real estate developer made large payments to his son.
The developer, David Appel, has been indicted on bribery charges for a total of nearly $700,000 he paid to Gilad Sharon or had transferred to the Sharon family ranch beginning in the late 1990's. Prime Minister Sharon and Gilad Sharon both live on the ranch in southern Israel.
When the dealings began, Mr. Appel was trying to build a resort on a Greek island and needed permission from the Greek government. Mr. Sharon was then Israel's foreign minister.
Mr. Appel hired Gilad Sharon to promote the project and indicated that the payments could reach $3 million, although Gilad Sharon had little business experience, according to the indictment against Mr. Appel.
The Greek government never gave Mr. Appel permission to proceed with the project, which ultimately collapsed.
In the second investigation, Israeli authorities previously ruled that Mr. Sharon raised money improperly in 1999 when he ran and was chosen as leader of the Likud Party.
The money was repaid with $1.5 million provided by Cyril Kern, a South African businessman and old friend of Mr. Sharon. Investigators are trying to determine if that transaction broke any laws.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
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