Date, justices selected for Katsav conviction appeal

Naor, Arbel and Joubran to hear former president’s appeal in July; in decision to stay imprisonment pending appeal, questions raised about chance of acquittal.
 
Former president Moshe Katsav’s appeal will be heard starting July 8, the Courts Administration announced on Monday. The judges selected to hear Katsav’s appeal are Supreme Court Justices Miriam Naor, Edna Arbel and Salim Joubran.
The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Katsav, in May, to seven years in prison, following a March conviction on charges of rape, sexual harassment and obstruction of justice.
Last week, Supreme Court Judge Yoram Danziger ruled that Katsav would remain free until the end of his appeal process, following a request for a stay of execution by Katsav’s lawyers.
Danziger’s ruling raised the ire of women’s rights groups who felt that Katsav was being given preferential treatment because of his former position, arguing that he should be treated as any common sex offender.
His rulings also raised questions about Katsav’s chances for success in his appeal. Danziger identified several judicial decisions by the District Court panel, which, if interpreted differently by the Supreme Court, could possibly lead to his acquittal of the rape charge.
The key choice Danziger commented on was the judges’ decision not to consider the alternative defense presented by Katsav’s lawyers, though not by Katsav himself, that Katsav did not use force, but rather his seniority, to commit the offense. If such an argument is considered and found to be grounded in fact, the judges may acquit him of rape, wrote Danziger So far Katsav has denied any sexual relationship between him and the victims, which is why the judges refused to deliberate the secondary defense.
Katsav was convicted of having twice raped Alef, his head of office at the Tourism Ministry, once in a hotel room and once in his office. His lawyers based their defense on disputing Alef’s testimony, providing as evidence, among other things, the diaries of Katsav and a staff member, whom Katsav, supposedly, was meeting with at the time of the offense. The District Court judges ruled out the diaries, reasoning that they could have been tampered with.
The court instructed the lawyers to schedule July 8, 10 and 11 for the hearings, but to hold aside July 15th and 16th as well.