MIDDLE EAST:ISRAEL'S HIGH court yesterday upheld a plea bargain signed with Moshe Katsav that will ensure the former president avoids rape charges and any possible prison time.
A five-justice panel rejected six petitions against the plea bargain, but the ruling was not unanimous. Two justices, including supreme court president Dorit Beinisch, said they thought the plea bargain agreed to by attorney general Meni Mazuz should be overturned, because it contradicted the public interest.
"In a case such as the one before us, involving such a senior public figure, accused of such serious crimes, the need to seek the truth is especially strong," wrote Justice Edmond Levy, the other dissenting voice.
Four female employees had accused Katsav of a series of sex crimes, including rape. While the attorney general had initially intimated he planned to indict the former president for rape, Mr Mazuz later backtracked and agreed to the plea bargain after meeting Katsav's lawyers.
Mr Mazuz said he had agreed to a plea bargain after Katsav's lawyers convinced him during a special hearing that the evidence collected by the state would not stand up in court.
Under the deal, Katsav agreed to plead guilty to one count of indecent assault involving pressure and one count of sexual harassment - crimes for which he would receive only a suspended sentence. As part of the plea deal, Katsav also agreed to step down as president.
But he has proclaimed his innocence throughout the affair and has insisted he is the victim of a witch-hunt, although he has never identified those he believes to be behind the conspiracy against him. He has also said he only agreed to the plea bargain to relieve the pressure on his family.
Israelis had watched with embarrassment as the allegations against the president became public. Four of his former employees accused him of having kissed them, fondled them and, in two cases, having raped them.
Some of these acts, they said, had taken place when they were alone with the president in his office.
Women's groups severely criticised the court's decision to uphold the plea bargain. The lawyer of one of the women who accused Katsav of rape, said the court's decision would deter women who had been assaulted by their employers from complaining in the future. "In Israel, we will find ourselves in a situation in which we have become a heaven for sexual offenders," said Kinneret Barashi.
However, Katsav's lawyers hailed the ruling. "President Katsav was accused of the most serious crimes: two rapes here, another rape there, and was presented . . . as a serial sex offender," said attorney Avigdor Feldman. But the charges, he said, had ended up as "a tiny, shrivelled-up indictment." "Someone owes the president a deep apology," added Mr Feldman.
Many Israelis heaved a sigh of relief when Katsav stood down and was subsequently replaced by veteran Israeli statesman Shimon Peres.