ISRAEL:IN A stunning reversal, former Israeli president Moshe Katsav said yesterday that he had decided to reject a plea bargain that would have seen him plead guilty to sexual harassment charges. He could now face much more serious charges, including rape.
"I decided to annul the plea bargain because I want to fight for my innocence," Mr Katsav said after a hearing in a Jerusalem court at which he was expected to confess to the charges in the plea bargain.
"I want to put an end to the persecution. I want to fight until the truth comes out," he said.
Attorney General Meni Mazuz, after initially saying he planned to indict the former president on two counts of raping two former employees, retreated last year and agreed to a plea bargain in which Mr Katsav would be charged with lesser crimes, including sexual harassment. At the time, Mr Mazuz said he did not feel the rape charges would hold up in court.
But yesterday, after hearing Mr Katsav's decision, Mr Mazuz intimated that he might revert to the initial rape charges.
The plea bargain had angered politicians and jurists, as well as women's groups who chanted "rapist, rapist" as Mr Katsav entered the courthouse.
After an employee in the president's office accused Mr Katsav in 2006 of intimidating her into a sexual relationship, other women made accusations ranging from sexual harassment to rape.
Mr Katsav, who is married with five children, has denied the charges, claiming he is the victim of a witch-hunt, but he has never named those he believes to be behind it. He resigned last June as part of the plea bargain.