Katsav rape trial protocols released

Female employees seen "as reserve from which he chose sexual objects."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
katzav pointing 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
katzav pointing 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Protocols from former president Moshe Katsav's trial, revealing that he physically forced himself upon women working for him, were released on Tuesday.
Katsav was charged in 2007, with two rape charges and other sexual crimes against three women who worked for him while he was minister of tourism and during his presidency.
RELATED:Katsav's lawyers ask to step downAvoiding an untenable precedent on Katsav
The newly released documents show that Katsav took advantage of his position and his victims' weaknesses. "The investigation shows that the accused saw women that were subordinate to him as a reserve from which he chose sexual objects," the document reads.
Until Tuesday, there had been a media ban on the details of the trial, witnesses and testimony. The trial ended in June, and Judge George Kara is currently working on the verdict, which is set for September, or after the High Holidays in October. The released document is an introduction to the prosecution and defense's statements. The names of the complainants have not been released.
Katsav was accused by four victims: two acts of rape and a sexual crime against "Aleph" from the ministry of tourism; sexual harassment of "Hey" from the president's office; sexual crime and harassment against "Lamed" from the president's office; harassing a witness and tampering with her trial. Three other women testified against Katsav, as well.
The prosecution said that Katsav would create documentation is order to protect himself against possible complainants. "These 'immunizing' proofs were saved by him for years, in order to pull them out in a time of need, with the excuse that he 'coincidentally' held on to them."
Katsav's defense: 'Evil and false rumors' are a 'blood libel'
The defense claimed that the prosecution and the public get their information from "evil and false rumors" that are a "blood libel" against Katsav. The former president's lawyers said that they suspect that he will not get a fair trial.
Katsav's lawyers, Zion Amir, Avigdor Feldman and Avraham Lavi said, in response to the claim that the former president had a "reserve of women" and kept records of his acts: "The prosecution's scandalous opinion is that the accused established an archive of terror in which he kept the remains of his victims, like a serial killer's attic of terror in which he keeps pieces of hair, hair clips and ballet slippers. Presenting the accused as a monstrous character from a Brothers Grimm story...is nauseating and suits the prosecution's tactic of demonizing the accused. When proof runs out, [the prosecution] turns to terror."
Katsav also accused MK Shelly Yacimovich of tampering with a witness and preventing him from exercising his right to a fair trial.
"Is it possible to treat the accused justly in court, is it possible to look at the proof without prejudice and reach the obvious conclusions?" the defense asked. "Is there not an ocean of hatred between us and the honorable judges, destructive words that spread throughout the media that reached the court? For example, MK Shelly Yacimovich that tampered with the testimony of...with a stain that is not less serious than the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico."
In response, the prosecution called Katsav's version of the story "squirming, sneaky and manipulative," and said he was trying to escape facts and "deal in warped commentary on documents and proofs, twisting them to his needs.