Police recommend indicting Katsav on rape charges

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL, DAN IZENBERG AND JPOST STAFF

President Moshe Katsav's police investigation came to a close on Sunday evening, as the team investigating the head of state told State Attorney Eran Shendar and Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz that there was enough evidence to indict Katsav on charges of rape (regarding 'A'), sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.

The police also found basis for charges of fraud and malfeasance in office in the case of pardons granted by the president, while investigations concerning disrupting a police investigation and harassing a witness were still in progress. According to Channel 2, police found that Katsav also purchased gifts with the state's money.

The investigative team also recommended charging the first woman who complained against Katsav with attempted blackmail.

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Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed that a formal announcement was expected.

In related news, a group of Likud MKs was trying Sunday to persuade their fellow party members to remain seated when Katsav is introduced at the opening of the Knesset's winter session, scheduled for Monday.

The protest act, aimed at pressuring Katsav to resign following numerous allegations of sexual misconduct by the president, was being organized by Likud MKs Gideon Sa'ar, Limor Livnat and Gilad Erdan.

The Likud MKs were not alone in their attempt to force Katsav to step down.

Earlier sunday, right-wing attorney Yossi Fuchs, of the Legal Forum for the State of Israel, petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday to order Katsav to either resign or suspend himself until a verdict was reached on the sexual harassment affair that has surrounded the president for the last three months.

Fuchs also demanded an interim order which would prevent the president from attending the opening ceremony of the Knesset's winter session.

Police sources said Saturday they believed they had built a strong case that justified indicting the president on sexual misconduct charges.

For three months, police have been investigating allegations that Katsav committed several acts of sexual misconduct - ranging from harassment to rape - against women employed by him in various government offices.

Cmdr. Yohanan Danino, head of the police's Intelligence and Investigation Division, and Lt.-Cmdr. Yoav Segelovich, who heads the investigative team, met with Mazuz and Shendar at the latter's Jerusalem office.

Last Monday, they held a similar meeting, but Shendar told the officers to put the final touches on their case before it was handed over to the Jerusalem District Attorney's office.

Sources within the investigation said last week that they would recommend indictments related to allegations made by four of the eight women who complained against the president. The allegations made by at least three of the women fall outside of the statute of limitations.

Three weeks ago, police gave most of the evidence gathered since the probe began in July to Jerusalem District Attorney Eli Abarbanel, and prosecutors have been studying the material ever since.

It is expected that Abarbanel will submit a recommendation on how to proceed to Mazuz within a month.

Mazuz is awaiting the police's conclusions even though Abarbanel and his team have already begun sifting through the bulk of the evidence in order to present their own recommendation to him.

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