Katsav
Photo: AP
Complainant A
Photo: Niv Calderon
Barashi
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Amir
Photo: Haim Zach
Katsav may face civil lawsuits
Complainants against former president mulling taking civil action after state offered Katsav plea bargain
The complainants against Moshe Katsav are mulling taking civil action against the former president, whose plea bargain for a series of sexual offenses has recently been contested at the High Court of Justice.
The complainants' attorneys have already begun examining the options for a civil lawsuit, although in some cases such legal action may be impossible due to the statute of limitation.
In the case of A, the complainant who served under Katsav at the presidential residence, the statute of limitation does not apply, and her chances of winning a compensation claim are considered very good.
"We have the lie detector's test, which applies in civil proceedings," A's attorney Kinneret Barashi explained, adding that "Contrary to the criminal procedure, which Attorney General Mazuz stated is problematic due to difficulties with the evidence and in which guilt must be established beyond reasonable doubt, in a civil procedure the burden of proof is less strict."
A's case can also benefit from Mazuz's recent statements in the media that he did not doubt the complainants' credibility, and that A' "was certainly a victim."
"We are looking into the possibility, but I first want to make sure that A is mentally capable of going through all this after everything that has happened," Barashi told Ynet. "If she's strong enough, we'll file a civil lawsuit."
Katsav's attorney Zion Amir said in response that the former president and his lawyers would be happy to disclose all the evidence gathered in the investigation in a civil court. "We think that such a procedure would tear the mask off of their (the complainants') faces and expose the truth," he stated.
