- Title: Coronavirus crisis delays start of Netanyahu corruption trial
- Date: 15th March 2020
- Summary: JERUSALEM (FILE - FEBRUARY 18, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS LOGO OF BEZEQ, ISRAEL'S LARGEST TELECOM GROUP, ON BUILDING IN JERUSALEM, CONNECTED CASE 4000 EXTERIOR OF BUILDING WITH BEZEQ LOGO
- Embargoed: 29th March 2020 09:26
- Keywords: Health Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coronavirus crisis corruption trial delayed
- Location: JERUSALEM/ TEL AVIV; RAMAT GAN; LOD; UNKNOWN LOCATION, ISRAEL/ ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES/ COLOMBO, SRI LANKA
- City: JERUSALEM/ TEL AVIV; RAMAT GAN; LOD; UNKNOWN LOCATION, ISRAEL/ ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES/ COLOMBO, SRI LANKA
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA00GC55WGG7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial was delayed on Sunday (March 15) for two months, until May, due to the coronavirus crisis.
Israel's Justice Ministry said the trial, due to have opened on March 17 with the reading of an indictment against Israel's longest-serving leader in three graft cases, would begin on May 24 "due to developments related to the spread of the coronavirus".
Netanyahu, who is spearheading Israel's tough measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, has denied any wrongdoing in the investigations. Charges against him include bribery, breach of trust and fraud.
In addition to the legal battle, Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud party, is fighting for his political life after an inconclusive election on March 2, following ballots in April and September that also ended without a clear victor.
Netanyahu, 70, is accused of wrongfully accepting $264,000 worth of gifts from tycoons, which prosecutors say included cigars and champagne, and of dispensing regulatory favours in alleged bids for improved coverage by a popular news website.
He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of bribery and a maximum three-year term for fraud and breach of trust.
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