Israeli president takes plea for “indecent acts”
The outgoing Israeli President signed a plea bargain admitting to “indecent acts.” He will not be indicted for the rape he is accused of committing.
Outgoing Israeli President Moshe Katsav signed a plea bargain with state prosecutors Thursday under which he will not be indicted for the rape he is accused of committing, but instead will face other charges, including committing an indecent act.
Under the terms of the deal the president will not serve time in prison or do community service, but will receive a suspended sentence and will also have to pay compensation, Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz told reporters in Jerusalem.
The announcement sparked widespread outrage in Israel, with women’s advocacy groups, and attorneys representing two of those who complained against the president, saying the plea bargain sent the wrong message to victims of sexual assault.
Katsav, 61, has protested his innocent throughout the whole affair, and his associates were quoted Thursday as saying he signed the plea bargain only to spare his family the suffering they were bing put through.
The indictment against Katsav will be filed in a Jerusalem court early next week.
Katsav took leave of absence from his largely-ceremonial post in January, after Mazuz first said he was contemplating filing an indictment. He was replaced by Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, who will remain as acting President until Katsav’s newly-elected successor, Shimon Peres, is sworn in on July 15.
‘The president will plead guilty to three charges, and will receive a suspended sentence and be ordered to pay compensation to the complainants,’ Mazuz said Thursday.
He said most of the 10 complaints different women originally levelled against Katsav, on accusations ranging from rape to indecent assault and sexual harassment, had passed their statute of limitations, or else lacked sufficient evidence.
‘The president has accepted responsibly for his actions,’ Mazuz said. ‘The fact is, the case was very complex and although there was still a chance of a conviction, with a plea bargain a conviction is certain even though it is more limited.’
Defending the plea bargain against criticism, the attorney-general said he believed it to be in the public interest as it ‘minimizes the harm to the institution of the presidency. It was important to spare Israel from seeing a president on trial.’
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