Verdict in Katsav rape case to be given behind closed doors

Only judges, Katsav, and his attorneys will be present when the verdict is read; press was also banned from testimony in 2009.

By BEN HARTMAN
Moshe Katsav 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Moshe Katsav 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The verdict in former president Moshe Katsav’s rape trial will be given behind closed doors at the Tel Aviv District Court next Tuesday.
It will be the first cases of a sexual offense trial involving a public figure in which the verdict is read without representatives of the press present.
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The decision to shut the media out was made last Thursday. As a result, only the judges and Katsav and his attorneys will be present when the the verdict is read.
Reporters will have to wait outside the courtroom for the verdict announcement.
During the trial, which began in September 2009, the judges banned the press during the hearing of testimony, and blocked the publication of the protocols, which were later released this past August.
Katsav was charged in 2007 with two charges of rape and a litany of other sexual crimes against three different women who worked for him when he was tourism minister and president.
The charges against Katsav include two counts of rape against his former employee “Aleph” from the Tourism Ministry and sexual harassment of “Hey” from the President’s Office.
He also faces charges of harassing a witness and obstruction of justice.