Last update - 00:00 06/11/2006
PM's military secretary: I convinced complainant against Ramon to speak out
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
The military secretary to the prime minister said Monday in testimony during the trial of Haim Ramon that he convinced the complainant in the sexual harassment against the former justice minister to speak out about her allegations.
The secretary, Brigadier General Gadi Shamni, said that Ramon and the complainant - a soldier at the time, known only as H. - visited his office a week after the incident in which Ramon is alleged to have forcibly kissed her.
Shamni said he had a feeling "Ramon came to scout out the territory," and to observe his reaction.
Several days later, Shamni set up a meeting with H. in a café and asked her about the visit.
According to Shamni, when Ramon arrived he tried to place his hand on her, and she became alarmed and began walking in the direction of Shamni's office.
Shamni said he was told about the alleged incident by the soldier's commander, known as L.
According to him, he told L. that the issue had to be dealt with by the proper authorities.
"I was very surprised by when I heard the story," he said. "I didn't believe that this could happen in the Prime Minister's Office. It is an inappropriate act that I felt I couldn't ignore."
Shamni asked H. to submit a complaint, and she told him she was afraid, since Ramon was a powerful and influential man and the move could harm her.
"She told me, 'I'm strong and I will move past this,'" he said.
"I told her that I thought she didn't understand the issue completely, and I asked her what she would do if something like that had happened to one of her soldiers - whether she would cover it up. She said she wouldn't, and that was the turning point. She started asking practical questions like whether an attorney would be involved and whether the trip [she had planned] to Costa Rica would be affected," he said.
Shamni invited Brigadier General Miri Golan to participate in his sessions with H., in order to answer questions posed by the complainant.
According to Shamni, "I tried to get up and bring a handkerchief from nearby tables, because she was crying all the time."
Later, the soldier's father arrived at the meeting, after which he, H. and Golan drove to police headquarters in Bat Yam to submit a complaint.
Shamni added that he came to know the complainant well: "I understood from her that she had been humiliated. She just thought she could overcome this, but I was certain that one day it would reappear and she would regret it."
Defense accuses prosecution of passing information to media
During deliberations Monday, Ariella Segal, a representative of the prosecutor's office, criticized the defense team for passing information to the media, saying "in the past week I passed a summary to [Ramon attorney Dan] Sheinman. The ink on the letter had not even dried when the comments appeared in the media."
In response, Sheinman said that the fact that only a few days ago the media received critical evidence harmed the judicial process.
"I don't remember ever encountering a situation like this in which the media is so involved in the trial," he said.
"The interference of the media is a disaster, but it comes from all directions," he added.
On Monday, the stenographer in the Prime Minister's Office, Ronit Lugasi, also testified. She was the first person to speak with H. after her alleged forced kiss with Ramon.
Lugasi said H. appeared agitated after the incident, and that she asked her to tell someone about what had happened.
Afterwards, soldier Yaniv Cohen testified that he had taken the picture of Ramon and the complainant immediately before the alleged incident.
"I remember that there was something hypocritical between them," Cohen said.
"Ramon acted as if she was a good buddy of his. It was full of hypocrisy. They acted like children in daycare," he added.
This morning, the court rejected a request by the prosecutor's office to conduct the rest of the trial behind closed doors.
The prosecutor justified the decision in light of possible threats to national security, saying, "due to concern over the location of the incident [the office of the prime minister's military secretary], details which could harm national security could reach the public."
Ramon's attorneys responded angrily, saying the prosecutor's request derives from her intention of hiding her behavior, which according to the defense is virtually a "disruption of the legal process."