_a.jpg "Photo: Gil Yohanan")
Lapid: President should be pardoned
Former justice minister suggests Katsav be pardoned, says public not interested in jailed president
Former Justice Minister Yosef Lapid made a surprising suggestion Wednesday that would likely outrage complainants of President Moshe Katsav’s alleged sex offenses.
Lapid said that the same deal reached with Former American President Richard Nixon, which secured his pardon following his resignation, should be applied in Katsav’s case.
“I don’t think the Israeli public wants to see an ex-president in handcuffs,” Lapid said, “I suggest that if he is convicted, the next president would grant him a pardon.”
The former minister, added, “I know it won’t stop feminists, but it would express the public’s will. I don’t think it’s possible to stop the legal process, but if he is convicted, he should be pardoned.”
The former justice minister explained that the president was a symbol of the country, and that kings and presidents were treated differently around the world.
“In England there isn’t even a possibility of allowing the king to lose it, and even in France it’s not possible to prosecute a president,” he said.
Still, chances are that Lapid’s suggestions will remain just that, as legal sources have made it clear that they would “go all the way with this affair”.
Education Minister Yuli Tamir said in response to Lapid's remarks: "Like every citizen, Katsav is entitled to a fair trial, but in light of the severity of the allegations, promising that he will be pardoned is an insult and disrespect to the damage caused to women who have suffered sexual assault."
