Katsav appeals rape conviction

Former President Moshe Katsav filed an appeal Monday with the High Court of Justice over his conviction in two rape cases and requested that the execution of his sentence be delayed.

Katsav is scheduled to begin serving a seven-year prison term next week, but his attorneys appealed the Tel Aviv District Court's ruling in an effort to delay his entry to prison until a final decision has been reached on the appeal.

Katsav in sentencing hearing (Photo: Ido Erez)

Katsav's lawyers Zion Amir, Avigdor Feldman and Avi Lavi wrote in the 300-page appeal that "weighty consideration should be given to the fact that Katsav served as the president of the State and Israel's official representative at home and abroad.

"It is fitting that at the end of this affair sees Katsav freed – not escorted in handcuffs from prison to the High Court," they said.

In the request to postpone the execution of his sentence, Katsav claimed through his lawyers that it would be extremely shameful and disgraceful to discover that a former president was jailed for no fault of his own.

Katsav's attorneys appealed both the sentence and the conviction, stating their client has experienced extreme suffering during the last six years; "suffering that no man deserves.

"He has gone through the seven circles of hell," they wrote in the appeal, adding Katsav's punishment far-exceeded the appropriate sentences given in these circumstances.

The prosecution, however, stressed that the appeal is unlikely to be accepted by the High Court due to the Tel Aviv District Court's unequivocal ruling and the judges' unanimous agreement that all of the complainants' testimonies were completely credible, while Katsav' was ridden with lies.

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