Last update - 00:00 28/02/2008
Katsav indicted on watered-down charges after sex crime plea deal
By Tomer Zarchin
A watered-down indictment was brought against former president Moshe Katsav on Thursday, days after the High Court rejected petitions over a plea bargain for alleged sex crimes.
The indictment against Katsav filed at Jerusalem District Court details only minor sexual offenses - one count of indecent assault and one of sexual harassment - and will see Katsav receive a suspended sentence rather than actual jail time.
Katsav had been accused of rape, sexual assault, eavesdropping, fraud and breach of trust.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz announced that he had no intention of delaying the indictment so that an additional hearing could be held by an extended panel of High Court Justices.
Womens rights groups and the Movement for Quality Government had asked Mazuz to reconsider his decision to file the indictment, but the request was rejected.
On Wednesday, the state said that it was seeking to charge Katsav with crimes of moral turpitude, which would make him ineligible to receive his presidential pension and other benefits.
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