by Hillel Fendel
Maverick Israeli lawyer Yoram Sheftel says that justice was not served in the Katzav case and that the judges were unable to stand up to media pressure. “There is no evidence to back up the accusations,” Sheftel told Arutz 7.
Sheftel said that the case was decided long before the judges handed down, this morning, their conviction of former President Moshe Katzav on several counts of rape and sexual harassment. “And it’s not just me saying it,” Sheftel said, “but rather former Deputy Supreme Court President Mishael Heshin himself. He said, and I quote: ‘The media’s intervention in this case has clearly affected the judges’ ability to judge… Katzav has already essentially been convicted… to the extent that his lawyers will be able to ask for a retrial if he is convicted… The judges would have to be made of iron in order to withstand this pressure, and I know these judges; they are not made of iron.”
Sheftel said that “aside from the lawyers and judges, I know the material in this case better than anyone, and I can say that it has been run in a slipshod manner from beginning to end. First of all, why was it held behind closed doors? The judicial establishment found an excuse for this intolerable situation, namely, that the identity of the complainant had to be protected… even though this is not the norm in other countries.”
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