LAWYERS REPRESENTING former Israeli president Moshe Katsav, sentenced to a seven-year prison term for rape, claim he may have lied when he denied having consensual sex with the main plaintiff.
The bizarre turnabout in the defence position came as Israel’s supreme court yesterday began hearing the appeal of Katsav (65), who was convicted in December of two counts of rape, two counts of sexual harassment, an indecent act using force, and obstruction of justice.
Defence lawyer Avigdor Feldman told the court he did not intend to present an alternative defence, but hinted that Katsav and the main plaintiff, identified as ‘A’, who served in the tourism ministry when Katsav was the minister, may have had an affair.
He said there was “a reasonable chance” the former president and the woman had consensual sex, which would make their encounter an abuse of authority at most.
Throughout his lengthy trial Katsav had consistently denied a romantic relationship with any of the plaintiffs.
Defence lawyers also compared Katsav’s case to that of John Demjanjuk, a Nazi guard, who was convicted by an Israeli war crimes court before the verdict was overturned by the supreme court when doubts emerged over evidence from leading witnesses.
Mr Feldman claimed ‘A’, whom Katsav was convicted of raping, “suffers from very significant memory loss on important issues”.
The supreme court will hear the appeal this week, with additional sessions next week if needed.
In a controversial decision in May, the court ruled that Katsav could stay out of jail while he appealed his sentence.
Katsav has always maintained his innocence, claiming to be the victim of a political witch hunt.