Police HR chief placed under house arrest after witness-tampering probe

Israel Police Human Resources chief, Superintendent Alona Shoham, has been placed under house arrest after being investigated on suspicion of harassing the head of the police spokespersons division, Chief Superintendent Lior Abudraham, who is the key witness against Prison Service Commissioner Major General Kobi Yaakobi. Investigators suspect Shoham recorded Abudraham while speaking about her contacts with senior officials in the police Internal Affairs unit.

That recording triggered a broader investigation by the Israel Competition Authority, which is handling the case because the alleged complainant brought the tape that purportedly shows a relationship between Abudraham and an Internal Affairs investigator. Both Abudraham and the investigator deny the claims. Last month, Abudraham was also questioned by the authority after Yaakobi alleged such a relationship, and a polygraph examination later found no link between Abudraham and the investigator.

Shoham was questioned this week under caution on suspicion of witness harassment and was then barred from police work for 15 days. Her attorneys, Shani Iluz and Kobi Avotbul, said they trust the investigators to work “professionally, fairly and thoroughly,” and argued that no flaw will ultimately be found in her conduct.

The case has also prompted a dispute over the handling of the investigation. Yaakobi’s lawyer, Uri Korb, said fears of “derailing and obstructing” the probe had come true, and accused the authorities of focusing again on Yaakobi instead of examining Internal Affairs’ conduct. He said the original complaint was made secretly so it could be examined without interference, but that leaks to the media and the choice of investigative body harmed the search for the truth. The legal system has not yet completed its review of the broader allegations.