Court lifts gag order on petitions against Mazuz

The State said it filed the request in order to allow the publication of details included in its response to the petitions against the plea bargain, excluding the names of the complainants. The State is scheduled to respond to the High Court petitions at 1 pm Thursday.

Sources at the State Prosecutor's Office explained that the gag order was unjustified and that the details must be published in order to make the discussion public and expose the public to the reasoning behind the plea bargain.

Referring to one of the complainants, the State said that as long as her name is not published, "Her right to privacy will not be harmed."

The former president's lawyers told Ynet that they supported the State's request. Kinneret Barashi, the attorney of complainant A who worked at the President's Residence, also said she supported the State's request.

"If the State Prosecutor's Office wants things to reach the media, as they always do, I will be the last one to oppose that," Barashi said.

On Monday, the High Court decided to postpone the hearing on the plea bargain signed with

Katsav by one week, following a request made by the State Prosecutor's Office for a 48-hour continuance in submitting a response to petitions calling for the annulment of the plea bargain. The Prosecutor's Office told the High Court it would not file a corrected indictment until the petitions were heard.

The former president's attorneys said in their response to the High Court that the petitions against the plea bargain were baseless.

“Such plea bargains are an integral part of Israel’s judicial system,” the attorneys said in their response. “The deals reflect relative and pragmatic justice and are based on the parties’ perception regarding the chances for conviction or acquittal.

“The media is trying to hurt his honor and human identity, as if he was a villain,” the defense attorneys said.