State files opposition to Katsav retrial for sex crimes

Former president's lawyer says there are factual and legal discrepancies" in the case; state: Discrepancies aren't new.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Moshe Katsav walking into court 311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post))
Moshe Katsav walking into court 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post))
The prosecution on Monday filed its opposition to former president Moshe Katsav’s request to the Supreme Court for a retrial in his sex crimes conviction.
Katsav filed his retrial motion on October 14, 2013, following his December 2011 sentence of seven years in prison.
His attorney, Yehoshua Reznick, said at the time that the request was based on “factual and legal discrepancies” in the case. He also said there was a lack of evidence supporting the testimony of a woman who testified that Katsav raped her, and the request said that phone records cast serious doubt on this testimony.
The state’s opposition said that the factual discrepancies that Reznick noted were not new, were in fact argued at trial, and consequently would be rejected in a retrial just as they were previously rejected.
The state said that the fact that “a rape was committed, and the court found that a rape was committed, cannot constitute injustice.”
Requests for mistrial are rarely granted after losing an appeal to the Supreme Court, unless a radical new factual element comes into play such as new DNA evidence or a new person confessing to the crime.
In September, Katsav left prison for his first 24-hour furlough, after meeting the legal requirements, which included serving a quarter of his sentence.
Without any new legal development, Katsav is still due to serve the majority of his seven- year sentence.Ben Hartman contributed to this report.


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