Former president Moshe Katsav walks out of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on November 10, 2011, after the court unanimously upheld the Tel Aviv District Court's rape conviction. (Kobi Gideon/Flash90)
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Friday that she would support pardoning former president Moshe Katsav, who is currently serving a seven-year sentence at Ma’asiyahu Prison for rape and other sexual offenses, if Katsav is not granted early parole later this month, Channel 10 reported. President Reuven Rivlin is also prepared to pardon Katsav, Army Radio said.
Katsav, who never admitted to the crimes for which he was convicted or expressed remorse for his actions, is on March 27 scheduled to appear before the Israel Prisons Service Parole Board, which has the authority to shorten prison sentences by a third.
According to Channel 10, Shaked asserted that there was no reason for the parole board not to order the release of Katsav, who is 70-years-old and has already served five years of his sentence.
“He meets the criteria [for early release],” Shaked has reportedly said of the ex-president. The justice minister reportedly added that both she and Rivlin would support pardoning Katsav if he were denied parole.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home party seen at a party meeting in the Knesset, October 12, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Katsav was convicted in 2011 of rape, sexual assault and harassment of a number of female employees during his tenures as tourism minister and president.
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He was sentenced to seven years in prison, and has since been waging a campaign for release on numerous fronts.
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