Jurists Urge Israel’s Attorney General To Investigate Katsav’s Associates

By Haaretz Service January 2, 2011

A forum of jurists has turned to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, urging him to open criminal investigations against close associates of Moshe Katsav who are said to have collaborated with the former president in an attempt to smear his accusers.

The jurists based their demand on the verdict in the Katsav case that was handed down on Thursday, in which the judges pointed out that Katsav’s associates actively helped him gather materials which they hoped would discredit the women who accused him of sex crimes, including rape, of which he was ultimately convicted.

Katsav was found guilty of rape and sexual assault at Tel Aviv District Court on Thursday, as the judges ruled that his version of events was “riddled with lies.” The unanimous verdict was handed down more than four years after complaints surfaced of grave sexual offenses against various subordinates, during his terms as tourism minister and as president.

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