Details of the draft indictment against President Moshe Katsav, which have reached Haaretz, reveal that the two primary complainants both said they expressed verbal opposition to his alleged advances and tried to physically repel him.

The draft indictment prepared by the state prosecutor includes accounts from the two women, both know as "A," that bear many similarities when describing the alleged attacks by Katsav.

Both claim that Katsav approached them while they were in his office, with their backs to him. He allegedly pressed himself against them and started to stroke their stomachs and then their buttocks. According to both women, he then allegedly forcibly undressed them and assaulted them.

	Advertisement

According to the charges announced by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz last week, Katsav will face rape charges only in the case of "A" who worked at the Tourism Ministry from 1998-1999.

Mazuz decided not to accept the police's recommendation that he indict the president for rape of the second "A," who worked at the President's Residence in 2003-2004.

Instead, Katsav will be charged with exploiting his status as her employer to have sex with her, as well as with indecent acts and sexual harassment.

In the case of two other President's Residence employees, Katsav will be charged with indecent acts that involved exploiting his status as an employer and sexual harassment.

Mazuz also plans to charge the president with giving away cups that belonged to the President's Residence at private events, as well as with obstruction of justice and harassing a witness, for trying to pressure one of the President's Residence employees to retract her complaint against him.

Mazuz decided in principle that Katsav would face charges for rape, sexual harassment, obstruction of justice, fraud and breach of trust, pending a hearing on the issue.

Should Katsav be convicted of all the charges in the draft indictment, he is likely to spend many years in jail. Courts do not generally impose the maximum sentences permitted by law, and they often allow sentences for different crimes to be served simultaneously rather than consecutively. But given the severity of the charges - rape, for instance, carries a maximum sentence of 16 years - it is extremely unlikely that any court would make do with community service or a conditional jail sentence

Katsav and defense attorneys David Libai and Zion Amir had agreed not to release any of the document's details.

The low media profile, which is in contrast to the media accessibility afforded by Katsav and his associates over the past six months, was to enable the president's legal team to study the evidence carefully for contradictions that might persuade Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to be lenient in the hearing that he is to hold for Katsav before the indictment is finalized.

Katsav's associates said Monday that his attorneys also made a commitment to the State Prosecutor's Office not to release details of the indictment until it is final.


Related link