Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav sentenced to seven years for rape

Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav was sentenced to seven years in jail for rape on Tuesday in a case that Israeli President Shemon Peres said showed all Israelis were equal before the law.

Katsav had denied charges he twice raped an aide when he was a cabinet minister in the late 1990s, and molested or sexually harassed two other women who worked for him during his 2000-2007 term as president. But a three-judge panel at Tel Aviv District Court said when convicting him in December that his testimony had been "riddled with lies."

"The defendant committed the acts as any man and as any man he must bear the punishment," the judges said at sentencing, adding that in the face of the grave offences, his clean record and stature were insufficient grounds for granting leniency.

Israeli media reported Katsav burst into tears after shouting out at the judges: "The women lied... injustice is being done here. You have caused the lie to triumph...you've made a mistake, sir."

At the end of the hearing that lasted less than an hour, Katsav, 65, was whisked out of court by family members and bodyguards and a scuffle broke out between one of his sons and media crews trying to photograph the former president.

The court told him to report for the start of his jail term on May 8. His lawyers said they will lodge an appeal.

'ISRAELIS ARE EQUAL BEFORE LAW'
Meanwhile, Israeli President Shemon Peres said the sentencing marked a sad day for Israel, but proved that the judicial system did not make allowances for rank and political status.

"This is a sad day, but we are all equal before the law," said Peres, who was defeated by Katsav in a 2000 presidential vote, but went on to succeed him after Katsav ended his presidency early over the rape allegations.

He stressed that Katsav's sentencing does not undermine the presidential institution. "There is no presidential institution; there is a president who is chosen by the Knesset. There is a man who carries out his duties as president in the right way or the wrong way."

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the sentencing marked a sad day for Israel, but the state should be proud of its system of justice. "This is an extraordinary day in Israel," Netanyahu said. "This is a day of sadness and shame, but it is also a day of deep appreciation and pride for the Israeli justice system."

"The court issued a sharp and unequivocal ruling on a simple principle, that of equality before the law," Netanyahu stressed. "Nobody is above the law, not even a former president. All are subject to the law."

But opposition leader Tzipi Livni said that a day in which an Israeli President goes to jail for rape is not a day of joy.