A former Israeli president was convicted of rape and obstruction of justice Thursday in what one newspaper called "an earthquake" that shook Israel's political and legal establishment.
Former President Moshe Katsav could face up to 16 years in prison for his crimes, including two counts of raping an employee in 1998 while he was tourism minister and other counts of indecent acts and sexual harassment involving two other women who worked for him when he was president.
The 65-year-old Katsav is the highest-ranking official in Israel to be convicted of such serious crimes, including obstructing justice for trying to convince one complainant to change her story.
But the three-judge panel that heard the case was unequivocal in its unanimous decision.
"Katsav's testimony was riddled with lies," the judges said. "When a woman says no, she means no."
Katsav had denied the charges of twice raping an aide and of molesting or sexually harassing the women who worked for him during his 2000-2007 term as president.
He has claimed he was a victim of a political witch hunt and was targeted because of his Sephardic origins.
Sephardic Jews, from Middle East or North African roots, were for decades seen as an underclass in Israeli society. Katsav was born in Iran and immigrated to Israel as a child.
A pale and silent Katsav left the courtroom without commenting, surrounded by his legal team. He was ordered to surrender his passport while awaiting sentencing at a date that has not yet been set.
Defence lawyer Avigdor Feldman said he will recommend to Katsav that he appeal the verdict.
"We can not accept this verdict," Feldman told Feldman told Israel's Army Radio.
He said however that he was concerned about Katsav's condition after the decision. "I am very worried and fearful for him, I hope he will have the strength to deal with this."
Rape carries a minimum prison term of four years and a maximum of 16 years under Israeli law.
Katsav's son Boaz vowed his father would clear his name. "We will continue to walk with our heads high and all the nation ... with God's help, will know that father, the eighth president of the state of Israel, is innocent," he said.
Although the newspaper Haaretz said the former president "has stained Israel's democracy with shame" his conviction was widely praised as a victory for the Jewish state's legal system and for women's rights.
"This is a sad day for the state of Israel and its residents," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party of which Katsav is a member, said in a statement.
"Today the court conveyed two clear-cut messages, that all are equal before the law and that every woman has exclusive rights to her body."
Katsav served as a minister in several Likud governments before he was elected to the largely ceremonial post of president in 2000.
The conviction was the latest chapter in the long-running case, a four-and-a-half year saga that stunned Israelis with its lurid details and bizarre twists and turns.
Katsav resigned in 2007, two weeks before his seven-year term expired, under a plea bargain that would have required him to admit to lesser charges of sexual misconduct. He was replaced by former prime minister Shimon Peres.
But in April 2009, Katsav rejected the deal, which would have kept him out of jail, and vowed to clear his name in court.
He held a bizarre news conference in which he lashed out at prosecutors and the media and denied any wrongdoing, shaking with anger, waving a computer disc that he said proved his innocence and screaming at reporters in the room.
The case became public in 2006, when the then-president complained that a female employee was extorting him. The woman then went to police with her side of the story, detailing a series of sexual assaults and prompting other women to come forward with similar complaints.
According to the indictment, Katsav forced one woman to the floor of his office at the Tourism Ministry in 1998 and raped her. A second time that year, he summoned her to a Jerusalem hotel to go over paperwork and raped her on the bed in his room. The indictment alleged that Katsav tried to calm his victim by saying: "Relax, you'll enjoy it."
The indictment also alleged that he harassed two women during his term as president, embracing them against their will and making unwanted sexual comments.
On Katsav's 60th birthday in 2005, an assistant offered congratulations. He then hugged her at length, sniffing her neck, according to the indictment. She complained to police, and the indictment said Katsav later tried to persuade her to change her testimony, earning him an additional charge of obstruction of justice.
The president in Israel is head of state but is a largely ceremonial post, representing the country at ceremonies around the world. The post, filled by parliament, is traditionally given to an elder statesman as a reward for years of public service.
Katsav's case sparked a high-profile campaign by woman's right groups. On Thursday, hundreds of women stood outside the courtroom holding signs against Katsav and chanting: "The whole nation knows Katsav is a criminal."
Prosecutor Ronit Amiel said the verdict sent a strong message that victims of abuse of power should not keep silent.
"This day is not a happy day. It is not an easy day," she said.
With files from The Associated Press
