Post date: Dec 30, 2010 12:38:20 PM
A very good day for democracy say Israelis after court convicts former president Katsav of rape.
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (DECEMBER 30, 2010) REUTERS - Israelis on Thursday (December 30) voiced content after an Israeli court found former President Moshe Katsav guilty of rape and other sexual offences, convictions of unprecedented gravity for a head of the Jewish state.Katsav, president from 2000 to 2007, had denied the charges of twice raping one former aide and of forcibly molesting or sexually harassing two others. He had also been indicted for witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
The 65-year-old Katsav had no comment for reporters as he left Tel Aviv District Court, surrounded by lawyers and bodyguards. He may try to contest the unanimous verdict, and what could be a lengthy jail sentence, in the Supreme Court, although his lawyer Zion Amir hinted otherwise.
"This is one stop along the way," Amir told reporters when asked if the case marked "the end" of Katsav's legal battle.
Although the scandal had forced Katsav's early retirement in disgrace, it had no impact on Israeli government functions, as the presidency is largely ceremonial.
But the allegations against the Iranian-born leader, whose rise from the slums once served as a shining example for disadvantaged Jewish immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa, stirred deep emotions in Israel, where the head of state is supposed to be a beacon of morality and national unity.
Indeed, Katsav had cast himself as the victim of extortion and an ethnically motivated "witch-hunt", and had vowed to clear his name.
"Judgement day" read newspaper headlines, as the verdict was welcomed by women's groups that have long complained of indifference to sexual harassment in workplaces.
Miriam Schler, Executive Director of the Tel Aviv Rape Crisis Centre welcomed the decision.
"It's a very important message to all the rape victims that were abused by men in positions of power, that they can file a complaint and that the legal system will do justice," Schler said.
The court did not immediately publish a date for Katsav's sentencing.
Israel Radio legal analyst Moshe Negbi said rape carries a maximum prison sentence of 16 years.
"I have no doubt that he will be sent (to prison) for a considerable number of years," Negbi said.
Some Israeli citizens said Katsav's conviction showed that all were equal before the law.
"I think it is a very good day for the Israeli democracy that we are strong enough to convict a president and to have him go to prison or pay his debt to society," Rachel Azaria, a Jerusalem resident said.
Avi Borovski, another resident of Jerusalem, said he thought that as a former president, Katsav should receive a severe punishment.
"In this position he should behave more carefully than a normal person," he said.
Katsav immigrated with his family to Israel in 1951. At 24 he became the country's youngest mayor and went on to hold a number of cabinet posts as a member of the rightist Likud party.
Parliament elected him president in 2000 in a surprise victory over Shimon Peres, Israel's Nobel Peace Prize-winning elder statesman. Peres, darling of the Jews of European descent who have long held sway in Israel, succeeded Katsav as president.