Tens of thousands protest in Tel Aviv over Katsav plea bargain - Haaretz

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Sat., March 01, 2008 Adar1 24, 5768

Israel Time: 06:05 (EST+7)

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		Tens of thousands of protesters gathering at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on Saturday, to protest against Moshe Katsav's plea bargain over sex crimes charges. (AP)

Last update - 23:40 30/06/2007

Tens of thousands protest in Tel Aviv over Katsav plea bargain

By Roni Singer-Heruti, Shahar Ilan and Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondents

At least 20,000 protesters, outraged over the plea bargain that spared outgoing president Moshe Katsav rape charges and possible jail time, gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand that he stand trial.

Over the past year, Katsav had been accused of a range of sexual offenses, including rape. Under the plea bargain signed Thursday, the rape charges were dropped and a suspended sentence was agreed by the prosecution. The president will plead guilty to sexual harassment, forcible indecent assault and harassing a witness as part of the deal.

The rally was attended by Education Minister Yuli Tamir, MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz), MK Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) and former MK and member of Tel Aviv's municipal council Yael Dayan.

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Dayan said that Katsav's plea deal turns the victims into criminals, and paid tribute to the women who went to the police with their accusations against the president.

"We must not incriminate the bravest of women, who deserve a medal for the courage to complain," she said.

"Now there is no law and no justice," Tamir told the rally. "These people [the protesters] came here out of pain, and out of desire to see a just trial in the State of Israel."

"The agreement on a plea bargain is an unwarranted and immoral act, that sends out an anti-educational message to women who have been sexually assaulted. We won't let this issue be swept aside," she added.

"It doesn't make sense that on the one hand, victims are encouraged to act bravely and come forward, and on the other hand, a plea bargain will shut the victims' mouths."

"As a woman, and mother to daughters, I feel hurt and ashamed. I was also ashamed when I heard Katsav's lawyers encourage the complainants to return to anonymity. This case has set off a chain of events that cannot be stopped. This plea bargain is an attempt to turn back the clock," Tamir concluded.

After the rally ended, some 100 protesters blocked traffic on a main Tel Aviv street near the site of the demonstration, without police authorization. Six people were arrested after they failed to heed police calls to step off the street. Several confrontations broke out as the police tried to restore order.

'Serial sex offender'

Earlier Saturday, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said in an interview with Channel 2 television that Katsav had behaved like a serial sex offender for many years, but most of complaints against him were over events that took place years ago, and thus the statute of limitations made most of them inadmissible.

Mazuz said the first complainant in the case, A., had probably had a sexual relationship with Katsav while working at the President's Residence, as per her testimony. However, he added, "the difficult question is whether the sexual relationship was consensual, an abuse of [Katsav's] position, or rape."

"A. was a victim in the relationship with Katsav, but being a victim is not a legal term," Mazuz said. He added that A.'s testimony was problematic and self-contradictory, and also contradicted other complainants' testimonies.

Mazuz said that if a plea bargain had not been reached with Katsav, he would have been indicted for rape, but then the prosecution would have run the risk of an acquittal.

Mazuz also told Channel 2 that Katsav had lied in his testimony, and would confess to lying under the terms of the plea bargain.

On Friday, hours after Katsav submitted his resignation as stipulated in the plea agreement, State Prosecutor Eran Shendar threatened to nullify the plea deal unless the president admitted to the charges against him in court, and refrained from citing familial considerations for accepting culpability.

Shendar's statements came in response to a remark by Katsav's lawyer Avigdor Feldman saying he and the president's aides had "forced him to sign the deal" despite his disapproval, as well a comment by Katsav's son to Channel 2 alleging the deal was reached due to his mother's fear of a trial.

The State Prosecutor presented a slightly refined indictment against Katsav to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court that included the said stipulations.

Katsav submitted his resignation to Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik on Friday. The resignation cuts Katsav's term short by just two weeks.

President-elect Shimon Peres, who was defeated in the 2000 presidential race by Katsav, will take office on July 15. Itzik will serve as acting president until then.

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1.	Wake Up Israelis Put the Real Criminals Behind Bars !!!	21:04	\|	Dutch	30/06/07

2.	A real horror in the history of Israel	21:16	\|	S	30/06/07

3.	IT SEEMS ISRAELIS ARE ALWAYS RALLYING FOR THE WRONG REASONS	21:31	\|	Dutch	30/06/07

4.	200,000 protesters live reported on Channel 1 news!	21:56	\|	Observer	30/06/07

5.	Small Turnout-Most Israelis Understand Charges Were Trumped Up	22:04	\|	Ben Israel	30/06/07

6.	acquittal	22:26	\|	gawain	30/06/07

7.	Is it because the poor Katzav was born in Iran?	22:32	\|	Samad	30/06/07

8.	Injustice	22:33	\|	sh	30/06/07

9.	What the AG says	22:37	\|	NP	30/06/07

10.	Why assume he is guilty?	22:39	\|	Lisa	30/06/07

11.	The AG speaks	23:14	\|	NP	30/06/07

12.	katsav	23:17	\|	avi	30/06/07

13.	Lynch!	23:26	\|	Avi Yerushalmi	30/06/07

14.	katsav	23:26	\|	marion kunstenaar	30/06/07

15.	Tamir, Gal-On & Dayan are bigoted racists against Sderot people!	23:41	\|	Genuine Tosefta	30/06/07

16.	Dutch always here for the wrong reasons	23:42	\|	ChanahS	30/06/07

17.	#7	23:44	\|	Unimpressed	30/06/07

18.	Samad	23:44	\|	ChanahS	30/06/07

19.	Samad # 7	23:45	\|	ChanahS	30/06/07

20.	#5 trumped up charges	23:53	\|	anne	30/06/07

21.	A.`s testimony was problematic	23:58	\|	NP	30/06/07

22.	To Dutch #1	00:33	\|	Former American	01/07/07

23.	To # 7 No it`s not because poor Katzav was born in iran	00:34	\|	Tom	01/07/07

24.	Focus on the enemy	01:20	\|	Brod	01/07/07

25.	Lisa and NP	01:23	\|	ChanahS	01/07/07

26.	Dutch, you sound like a broken record. No sense in even reading U	01:45	\|	UneedAnewCause	01/07/07

27.	#1 Dutch	02:13	\|	D	01/07/07

28.	katsav	02:17	\|	AL	01/07/07

29.	Should have solved the public`s pain by risking aquittal in trial	02:57	\|	Mea	01/07/07

30.	Did anyone really expect him to do hard time?	03:07	\|	Mark Lincoln	01/07/07

31.	katzv	03:50	\|	E. Sherman	01/07/07

32.	TA Protest ver Katsav	05:13	\|	Jay	01/07/07

33.	The real SHAME & DISGRACE	06:53	\|	Dr. Dave	01/07/07

34.	a slap in the face for rape victims	07:01	\|	SJ	01/07/07

35.	Former American , My response...	07:15	\|	Dutch	01/07/07

36.	Katsav was the First	07:15	\|	machmoud	01/07/07

37.	Katsav plea bargain is not worth breaking the shabbat	07:20	\|	Aviva Levine	01/07/07

38.	To Dutch	10:03	\|	Former American	01/07/07

39.	to dutch	13:54	\|	ka	26/02/08

40.	May he rot in hell, a better punishment.	06:42	\|	sandra chitayat	28/02/08

41.	LEGAL SYSTEM NEEDS AN OVERHAUL	14:57	\|	petra	28/02/08

42.	# 190 Lisa why not assume he`s guilty?	15:00	\|	petra	28/02/08

43.	# 36 And Larry Craig and Mark Foley	15:08	\|	petra	28/02/08

44.	KATSAV YOUR FANS AWAIT YOU	15:09	\|	petra	28/02/08

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