Katsav investigation illegal, attorneys say
President's defense lawyers claim police investigators did not ask him if he wanted to be stripped of his immunity, and therefore evidence was collected against him in violation of his immunity
All the evidence collected by the police against President Moshe Katsav is illegal and should be rejected, the suspended president's defense attorneys have said.
This claim will serve as the president's new line of defense, which will be presented in a hearing expected to be held to Katsav by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz in May, and later at court, should he be officially indicted over alleged sex offenses.
According to Attorneys Zion Amir and Avigdor Feldman, the president was not asked even once if he was interested in being stripped of his immunity, and thus the evidence was collected in violation of his immunity.
Representatives of the State Prosecutor's Office said in response that in his correspondence with the attorney general, the president specifically said that he was not hiding behind his immunity.
Katsav's lawyers promised the High Court of Justice that the hearing, scheduled for May 2, would not be postponed. They also announced that Katsav would resign his immediately if Mazuz decides to officially indict him.
'The president is a very easy target'
Attorney Feldman told Army Radio on Thursday morning that the search warrant issued damaged the president's immunity.
"The immunity is aimed at defending the president against libel. The president is a very easy and good target, and according to our understanding, this is exactly what happened here. Someone has decided that the president is a very easy and tempting target and has made false accusations," Feldman said.
According to the lawyer, "The president was standing with his back against the wall" and had therefore responded to the affair, but in principle he should not have responded due to his immunity.
Feldman added that the investigation material "contains other claims, which are extremely significant, and surprises are expected." He said the claims would be presented during the hearing.
