Aanklacht President Katsav (Israel) voor verkrachting

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President Katsav to be indicted for rape
Israel's top citizen will also be charged with other sex crimes

In an unprecedented decision in the history of Israel, Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz decided on Tuesday to indict President Moshe Katsav on charges of rape, sexual harassment, breach of trust, obstruction of justice, harassment of a witness and fraud.

A final decision on the indictment would be made only after a hearing, where Katsav could present his case.

Katsav has denied the charges, stemming from complaints made by four women who worked for him during his tenure as president and, before that, as a Cabinet minister. Katsav has said he is the victim of a conspiracy by political enemies. The president's office said Tuesday it had no official comment.

# Timeline: The evolution of a presidential indictment
# Reactions: MK Yahimovitch hails decision

The president enjoys immunity while in office and could be tried only after his resignation or end of term, which is later this year. His lawyers had indicated he would resign if indicted. Mazuz declined to recommend that Katsav be charged with wire tapping and selling pardons.

In December, Katsav announced that should he be indicted, he would voluntarily suspend himself from office.

Mazuz phoned Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and informed her of his decision. As stipulated by law, the Speaker of the Knesset is also the acting president.

According to the Basic Law: President, no one can temporarily suspend Katsav except Katsav himself. While the Knesset has the power to fire him, the initiative requires a majority of three-quarters of the House (90 MKs) to pass the resolution. As yet, no such move has been initiated.

On Monday, Katsav drew a parallel between himself, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, and the victims of former US senator Joseph McCarthy's witch hunt in the post-World War II era.

"Just as Joe McCarthy was resurrected in Israel," Katsav said, "there will also be a resurrection of Emile Zola."

Dreyfus was a French army officer who more than a century ago was unjustly accused and convicted of treason on anti-Semitic grounds. Justice-seeking writer Emile Zola brought the truth of the case to light and Dreyfus was eventually exonerated, pardoned, rehabilitated and promoted.

McCarthy waged a decade-long inquest beginning in the late 1940s into suspected Communists and Communist sympathizers, ruining the lives of thousands of innocent people unjustly charged with offenses such as espionage.