Israel ex-President Moshe Katsav found guilty of rape

Israel's former President Moshe Katsav has been found guilty of rape by a court in Tel Aviv.

He had faced two allegations of rape by an employee when he was tourism minister in the 1990s. He was also convicted of later sexual offences.

The judges said they believed the evidence of Woman A, whose testimony had led to both charges of rape.

Moshe Katsav resigned from the post of ceremonial head of state in 2007 and was indicted in March 2009.

He could now face a jail term of at least four years, although he is thought to be likely to contest the conviction in Israel's supreme court.

Before Katsav arrived for the verdict a crowd built up outside the district court, including many women's rights activists.

'Riddled with lies'

The former president, in office for seven years from 2000, had denied the charges, the most serious levelled against an Israeli head of state.

He had rejected a plea bargain in 2008 that would have seen him plead guilty to sexual misconduct but avoid more serious charges.

According to the indictment, the rape charges dated back to April 1998 when Woman A alleged he had first raped her at the Tourism Ministry office and later at a hotel in Jerusalem.

The further charges related to claims of sexual harassment of two women in 2003 and 2005 during his presidency.

Reading the verdict, Judge George Karra who presided over a panel with two other judges, said: "We believe the plaintiff [Woman A] because her testimony is supported by elements of evidence, and she told the truth."

Katsav's evidence, the judges decided, was "riddled with lies".

Moshe Katsav was born in Iran and immigrated to Israel with his family aged six in 1951. He joined the right-wing Likud party and held a number of ministerial posts before becoming president.

The allegations against him first surfaced in 2006 and eventually led to him stepping down the following year, to be replaced by current President Shimon Peres.

While his resignation caused shock across Israel, it had little political consequence as the post is largely ceremonial.

After his indictment, he gave a televised news conference claiming he was the "victim of a lynching" organised by then-Attorney General Menahem Mazuz.

His successor, Shimon Peres, was quoted by Israeli media shortly after the verdict as saying: "There are not two types of citizen in Israel. There is only one type of citizen, equal before the law."

Women's groups in Israel have welcomed the verdict, arguing that allegations of sexual harassment are too often ignored.