high court on Sunday ordered a delay on president Moshe Katsav being indicted for sex offences, demanding the attorney general justify a much criticised plea bargain under which rape charges were dropped.
The decision was made after furious women's groups and the Movement for Quality Government lodged an appeal against the deal cut by Katsav, under which he admitted guilt for lesser sex offences but was spared two rape charges and a possible jail term. "The high court gave (Attorney General Menachem) Mazuz 24 hours to justify the plea bargain reached with Mr Katsav," said a justice ministry spokesman just minutes before a Jerusalem magistrate was due to open an indictment hearing.
"The Katsav case cannot be brought before the magistrate's court until Mazuz has responded," the spokesman added. Naamat, the main women's union in Israel, said: "This plea bargain spits on every woman and on the police who recommended charges of rape." Katsav, a 61-year-old father of five, on Thursday signed a deal in which he admitted to a series of sex offences, including harassment and indecent acts. But two rape charges were dropped, meaning he escaped a possible jail term.
Women's groups and victims of sex attacks slammed the deal at a rally attracting 20,000 people in Tel Aviv late on Saturday, the pinnacle of a backlash against Mazuz for being too lenient with Katsav. Under the terms, Katsav agreed to a suspended prison sentence and a fine of 11,000 dollars but dodged jail and rape charges, which appeared in the initial charge sheet handed by police to the state prosecution last January.
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