The international media – from Iran to the US – prominently featured the former president’s conviction on rape charges Thursday.
Moshe Katsav’s fall from grace was not only at the top of the Israeli media’s agenda; it took the top spot for news organizations around the world.
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The word “Katsav” was the ninth “trending topic” worldwide on the micro-blogging site Twitter.
Shortly after the verdict was announced on Thursday morning, CNN put the
story at the top of its website, with the headline “Former Israeli
president Katsav guilty of rape.” The story stayed up for hours.
Al-Jazeera also chose Katsav as its top story, writing a long, detailed
report with background on the sexual misconduct trials of former justice
minister Haim Ramon and former defense minister Yitzhak Mordechai.
“It is noteworthy that the Israeli president never admitted to the charges,” Al-Jazeera pointed out.
The New York Times put the story second on its homepage, saying Katsav’s verdict “inevitably leads to a prison term.” The
Times’s correspondent in Israel, Isabel Kershner, said the conviction was “capping a four-year spectacle.”
British tabloid the
Daily Mail’s headline was “Riddled with lies,” quoting Judge George Kara’s assessment of the former president’s testimony.
The paper also claimed that Katsav is “facing four years behind bars.”
French newspaper
Le Monde featured the Katsav trial prominently, while Russian daily
Pravda put “Ex-leader of Israel declared ‘serial rapist’” on its home page. The UK’s
Guardian and Spanish paper
El Pais followed suit.
Iranian news agency Press TV also placed the trial in one of the top
spots on its website; semi-official Iranian news site Fars chose to
ignore it.