Israeli Pres. May Face Criminal Charges

Israeli President Moshe Katsav should be charged with rape, police recommended Sunday, according to Israeli television.

The recommendation came at a meeting between police investigators and Attorney General Meni Mazuz, the Channel 10 TV report said. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed that the meeting was taking place and that a formal announcement was expected.

The final decision on whether to put the president on trial is up to Mazuz.

Channel 10 TV reported the police also found basis for charges of fraud and malfeasance in office in the case of pardons granted by the president, while investigations concerning disrupting a police investigation and harassing a witness were still in progress.

While a previous president and several prime ministers have been suspected of financial misdeeds and a former defense minister was convicted of sexual harassment, the charges facing Katsav would be the most serious criminal counts brought against a serving Israeli official.

A senior investigator said earlier there was enough evidence to indict the president on "some of the matters" that were investigated.

The investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media, declined to elaborate. But the investigation has included questioning on allegations of sexual harassment, electronic eavesdropping and granting pardons in exchange for cash.

Katsav has denied all wrongdoing. However, if indicted he would likely have to step aside. In Israel, the president holds a largely ceremonial role with little authority, but is considered a unifying force in a fractured society.

Israel Radio and Channel 2 TV said the case against Katsav is based on complaints by five women who allege he made unwanted sexual advances toward them during his tenure as president and before that, as a government minister. Complaints by five other women are not being pursued because the statute of limitations has run out, the reports said.

The investigation of Katsav began earlier this year after a former employee alleged he forced her to have sex under the threat of dismissal. Police repeatedly questioned Katsav at his official residence and seized personal documents.