The Tel Aviv District Court today sentenced former President Moshe Katsav to seven years in prison, a two year suspended sentence, and to pay NIS 100,000 in compensation to complainant A, and NIS 25,000 to complainant B. Katsav did not move during the sentence, and only gave a bitter smile on hearing it. The court convened at 9 am for the sentencing.
Two months ago, a three-judge panel of Judge George Karra, Miriam Sokolov, and Judith Shevach convicted Katsav on all counts, including two counts of rape, indecent acts, sexual harassment, and obstruction of justice.
Katsav entered the court, and stood on the stairs as he waited for the cameras and media to leave the courtroom, so as not to show him in the defendant's chair. He was accompanied by his son, Ariel.
The courtroom doors were closed after the media left, and the reading of the sentence began immediately afterwards. The sentence has both a majority by Judges Karra and Sokolov and minority opinion by Judge Shevach.
The judges stated, "The accused is not a symbol. There is no importance to the fact that the accused served in elevated positions. On the contrary - the fact that the accused carried out the crimes while serving in elevated position should reflect his obligations: the greater the trust, the greater the disappointment."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 22, 2011
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