Former President loses rape case appeal

Israel's Supreme Court today ordered former president Moshe Katsav to spend seven years in prison after rejecting the disgraced politician's appeal against a rape conviction and other sex crimes.

The decision capped a long and sordid chapter in Israeli politics that captured the country's attention for more than five years and ended with Katsav becoming the highest-ranking Israeli official ever sentenced to prison.

He is to start serving his sentence on December 7.

The ruling was seen as a major triumph for women's rights - and specifically, rape victims' rights - and for a legal system willing to take on some of the country's most influential figures.

Katsav, who has proclaimed his innocence throughout the affair, sat stone-faced throughout today's hearing, briefly smiling wryly as it became clear his appeal was being rejected. He left the courtroom surrounded by supporters and made no comment to reporters.

Katsav, 65, was convicted last December of raping a former employee when he was a Cabinet minister and of sexually harassing two other women during his term as president from 2000 to 2007. He received a seven-year prison sentence in March, but was allowed to stay out of jail pending his appeal.

The court had not been expected to overturn the conviction, though experts had said there was a chance the sentence would be revised. Reading their decision, the three-judge panel said Katsav's testimony had not been credible and accused him of exploiting his status as a public official.

Katsav's attorney, Avigdor Feldman, said he "did not agree" with the sentence and that the judges had believed one of the plaintiffs despite serious holes in her testimony.

"They would have believed her if she said the rape occurred on Venus," Mr Feldman said.

Katsav has maintained he was the victim of a political witch hunt.

Israel's presidency is a largely ceremonial office, typically filled by a respected elder statesman who is capable of rising above politics and serving as the country's moral compass.

The case against Katsav, which broke in 2006 after he told police one of his accusers was trying to extort money from him, shocked Israelis by portraying a man widely seen as a bland official as a predatory boss who repeatedly used his authority over female employees to force sexual favours.

Katsav reluctantly resigned two weeks before his seven-year term was due to expire in 2007 under a plea bargain that would have allowed him to escape jail time.

He was replaced by Nobel peace laureate and former prime minister Shimon Peres, whom he had bested in the 2000 presidential race, decided in the Israeli parliament. Then, in a dramatic reversal, Katsav rejected the plea bargain, vowing to prove his innocence in court.

Judges, however, were not convinced, accused him of lying and sentenced him to jail in March. His long record of public service did not factor in his favour, they said, instead accusing him of exploiting his lofty positions to become a sexual offender.