Former President Katsav (L) and his attorney
Photo: Yariv Katz
Katsav appeals to court to rescind overnight house arrest
Fmr. President Katsav appeals to court to rescind overnight house arrest—upheld by parole board as part of his early release from prison after serving 5 of 7 years; parole board originally denied request citing police opinion Katsav may 'prowl at night'; police opinion 'detached from reality,' attorneys say.
Former Israeli president and convicted rapist Moshe Katsav appealed to the Lod District Court Thursday against the Courts' Administration's parole board's decision to keep the terms of his overnight house arrest in place.
As part of the conditions of his early release, and his status as a "licensed prisoner", Katsav is barred from leaving his residence from the evening hours until the following morning.
The former president had contacted the parole board recently requesting the sanction be lifted, but was denied two weeks ago, which prompted his appeal to the court.
Former President Katsav (L) and his attorney Shani Iluz (Photo: Yariv Katz)
The Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority, his attorneys further claimed, decreed Katsav was actively taking part in rehabilitation sessions and aspired to a normative, law-abiding lifestyle.
Katsav was released in December of last year after serving five years of his seven-year sentence for rape and other offenses. The overnight house arrest limitation, similarly to other conditions placed on Katsav in the terms of his release, will expire December 2018, simultaneous to the end of his official sentence.
Katsav attorney Zion Amir (Photo: Zvika Tishler)
The State Attorney's Office objected to Katsav request before the parole board and claimed they were accepted limitations for prisoners convicted of sex crimes, and that there was no justification for special leniency in his instance.
Katsav's requests for reprieves on the terms of his release have all been denied thus far. The parole board refused such requests in April and November, whereas this past August President Reuven Rivlin denied a similar request citing the parole board's decision to shorten his actual sentence only with the limiting conditions in place, coupled with a layered rehabilitation plan.
