Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit on Wednesday lambasted the police for leaking information from their interrogation of President Moshe Katsav.

In a television interview set to air Wednesday, Sheetrit said, "the leaks from the investigation are, in my view, an intolerable thing for which there is no repentance."

Sheetrit called on the Public Security Minister must react firmly and harshly to the phenomenon.

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He also addressed the issue of Katsav's reluctance to resign despite the police's recommendation that he be indicted for aggravated sexual assault, saying, "the President is entitled to be treated as innocent until he is found guilty. I advise everyone to show restraint until he is indicted. If he is indicted, he will have to resign."

Sheetrit said he finds no fault with the fact that the president is still acting in his capacity to pardon criminals. "As long as he is in office he is president in every way, with all the legal authority that the position entails," he said.

Unlike Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who supports the legislative motion to elect the president through an open vote, Sheetrit said he remains a firm supporter of the method of secret ballot. "Since covert elections shield the voting MKs from political pressures, they improve the chances that the best man for the job will be elected president," Sheetrit said.