Israel to indict president for rape
Pastor Dale Morgan
Israel to indict president for rape
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By Ron Bousso in Jerusalem
January 24, 2007 09:26am
Article from: Agence France-Presse
ISRAELI President Moshe Katsav's political future was on the line today
after the attorney-general decided to indict him for rape, the most
serious charge ever levelled against an Israeli leader.
Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz informed the 61-year-old president that
he intended to charge him with rape and sexual harassment of four women
as well as breach of trust and accepting bribes.
"After examining all the available evidence, the attorney general has
reached the conclusion that there is sufficient alleged evidence to file
an indictment against the president,'' the justice ministry said.
The Iranian-born Mr Katsav, a right-winger who was elected in 2000 to
the largely ceremonial post, has vigorously denied the allegations and
has steadfastly refused to resign despite mounting calls for him to go.
A final decision on the indictment will be made only after a hearing,
where Mr Katsav will be allowed to present his case.
It remained unclear whether he intended to step down beforehand, but he
will hold a press conference tomorrow.
The beleaguered father-of-five will be charged with raping a former
employee at the tourism ministry in the late 1990s, and will face
separate charges of sexually harassing three other employees at the
presidential residence.
He faces extra charges of allegedly offering "dozens of silver cups'' as
gifts while serving as president and obstructing the investigation into
the crimes, the ministry said.
"There is a great sense of relief. The facts speak for themselves,''
Kinneret Barashi, lawyer for one of the president's alleged sexual
harassment victims, told army radio.
Channel One television reported that the president did not intend to
resign but David Mena, one of Mr Katsav's close associates, said: "The
president will now have to decide whether he will step down before or
after his hearing.''
Police said in October that they had uncovered enough evidence to charge
Mr Katsav following months of investigation and interrogations of the
head of state at his official Jerusalem residence.
Mr Katsav, a relative outsider who became the country's first right-wing
president after a shock win over former premier and Nobel peace laureate
Shimon Peres, has said he is the victim of a witchhunt and vowed to
clear his name.
But Mr Katsav faces the prospect of becoming Israel's second consecutive
president forced out by scandal, ending a lacklustre career in disgrace
and perhaps prison.
His predecessor, the late Ezer Weizman, was forced to resign in 2000
after revelations he received about half a million US dollars as "gifts"
from French millionaire Edouard Saroussi in the 1980s, when Mr Weizman
was an MP and minister.
Today's dramatic development comes less than a week after the state
prosecution announced it was opening an investigation against Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert over suspicions he had abused his influence in the
privatisation of the country's second-largest bank.
Former justice minister Haim Ramon of Mr Olmert's Kadima party is also
facing trial over allegations of sexual harassment.