Israel's Katsav escapes rape charges

Israel's court yesterday upheld a much-criticized plea bargain that allowed former Israeli president Moshe Katsav to escape rape charges and a possible prison term.

A panel of five Supreme Court judges ruled that the deal was reasonable, rejecting claims that it went easy on Katsav because of his prominent position.

Katsav, who insists he was the victim of a witch hunt, left office in disgrace in June after four former female employees accused him of a series of sex crimes, including rape. Facing indictment, he agreed to a plea bargain that allowed him to avoid the gravest charges.

Attorney General Meni Mazuz, who initially had announced his intention to charge Katsav on all counts, later suggested the state was uncertain it could convict Katsav on the rape charges.

Under deal, Katsav agreed to plead guilty to two counts of sexual harassment and resign just two weeks before his seven-year term was up.

Now that the plea bargain has been approved, Katsav will receive a suspended sentence with no jail time. The original charges could have carried a sentence of 20 years.

Good-governance Women's rights groups, bolstered by a public outcry, had petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the agreement shortly after it was announced eight months ago.

"This is a sad day," said Yifat Matzner, an attorney for a women's rights group that filed the appeal.

Kinneret Barashi, a lawyer for one of the women who accused Katsav of rape, said she was "very much infuriated" by the court's refusal to overturn the deal.

"If the attorney general's decision was wrong, deficient, riddled with shortcomings, distorts reality, causes many people emotional upheaval and leaves a woman's body defenseless, then I think it would have been proper to intervene in such a vile plea bargain," she said.

But Katzav's lawyers hailed the ruling.

"President Katzav was accused of the most serious crimes: two rapes here, another rape there, and was presented ... as a serial sexual offender," said Avigdor Feldman, his attorney, calling the final charges "a tiny, shriveled-up indictment."

"Someone owes the president a deep apology," Feldman said.

In announcing the plea bargain, Mazuz said one of his considerations was the reputation of the Israeli presidency and his desire to avoid a prolonged trial with painful headlines -- a point whose legal validity critics questioned.

Opponents the deal had hoped the Supreme Court would take the rare step of declaring the plea bargain unacceptable and either overturn it or send it back to Mazuz for revision.

Katsav's charged that he repeatedly fondled them, kissed them, exposed himself to them and -- in two cases -- raped them while he served as president and earlier, as tourism minister.

Although Israel's presidency is a largely ceremonial position, the allegations roiled the country by portraying the man who was supposed to be Israel's moral compass as a predatory boss.

Katsav himself several months after the charges emerged in July 2006 in order to fight them, but refused to resign until the plea bargain forced him to do so. Israeli elder statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres replaced him as Israel's ceremonial leader in July.