Former Israeli president guilty of rape
Former Israeli president, Moshe Katsav, was sentenced to seven years behind bars on Tuesday, after being convicted on two counts of rape and other offences.
Friday 25 March 2011, 05:57AM
Former Israeli president, Moshe Katsav, was sentenced to seven years behind bars on Tuesday, after being convicted on two counts of rape and other offences, in a scandal which has rocked Israel.
The judges also handed him a two-year suspended sentence and ordered him to pay compensation of 100,000 shekels ($28,000 US) to the main victim, known only as “Aleph”, as well as 25,000 shekels ($7,000 US) to a second victim.
The 65-year-old Katsav shouted, “this is a victory for lies!” as the sentence was read aloud by presiding judge George Kara.
Katsav was convicted in December of rape, sexual harassment, indecent acts, and obstruction of justice after an 18-month trial that portrayed him as a sexual predator who routinely harassed his female staff.
The court granted Katsav 45 days to set his affairs in order before beginning his sentence on May 8.
The sentence was set by two of the three judges, with the third, the minority opinion, saying a jail term of four and a half years would have been enough for the former head of state, who repeatedly proclaimed his innocence throughout the trial.
While announcing Katsav’s sentence, Judge Kara said, “the crime of rape harms and desecrates a person’s honour, humiliates them, represses the spirit, and damages the soul. The severity of the crime of rape was further reinforced because it was carried out through the exploitation of [Katsav’s] position of authority.
“The defendant committed the crime and, like every other person, he must bear the consequences. No man is above the law,” he said.
“Aleph,” the primary victim said she was satisfied with the outcome of the trial.
“Personally I was not looking for vengeance and the severity of the sentence was not important to me. The main thing for me was the verdict, that the court unanimously believed me and gave me justice, even if it was delayed,” she told reporters.
As Katsav left the court, hundreds of photographers and camera operators besieged the former president.
“Rapist, go to prison!” screamed one woman as he was bundled into a waiting car, with scuffles breaking out between reporters and his family.
Tzion Amir, one of Katsav’s lawyers, described the sentence as “day of sadness and mourning for Israeli society” and vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.
“There is no doubt that this is a very significant day for the victims of sexual violence after a four-and-a-half-year struggle,” said Dorit Abramovich, who headed a campaign by 20 women’s groups to charge the former president.
“This is a great achievement. A serial sexual offender and former president is going to jail for serial sexual violence,” she said outside the court.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was “a day of sadness and shame” for Israel but also “a day of pride” for the country’s justice system.
“Nobody is above the law, not even a former president,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said, noting that the ruling had implications for equality between men and women.
The former head of state was accused of twice raping “Aleph” during his term as tourism minister, and sexually assaulting and harassing two other women while he was president.
Katsav was forced to resign as president in June 2007, handing the largely-ceremonial office to former rival Shimon Peres. – AFP
