TEL AVIV, June 28 (RIA Novosti) - Rape charges against outgoing Israeli President Moshe Katsav will be dropped by the country's authorities following a plea bargain to save him from imprisonment, the country's Haaretz newspaper said Thursday.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz reached an agreement with Katsav's lawyers that the two counts of rape would be removed from the indictment. The president, whose role is largely ceremonial, has been on leave of absence since the charges were brought against him in January.
"Katsav is accused of having twice raped a former Tourism Ministry employee while serving as tourism minister, and of forcibly hugging her and touching her leg, which is classified as indecent behavior," the newspaper said.
"The indictment will include an indecent behavior charge, but Katsav will not be charged with using force - only with taking advantage of his position of authority, a lighter offense," Haaretz reported.
After Katsav gave up his duties, parliamentary speaker Dalia Itzik took over as acting president. Shimon Peres, a former prime minister, was elected president on June 13, and will be inaugurated on July 16.
The attorney general announced Thursday that Katsav had agreed to submit his resignation to the speaker later in the day as part of the plea bargain, and said the resignation would take effect two days after submission.
Haaretz quoted the attorney general as telling journalists that the outgoing president would "plead guilty to three charges," and "receive a suspended sentence and be ordered to pay compensation to the complainants."
Menachem Mazuz said he believed the deal was in the public interest.
"This agreement minimizes harm to the institution of the presidency. It was important to spare Israel from seeing a president on trial," he said.
The agreement will also "encourage victims of crimes of a sexual nature to come forward. Katsav will bear personal and public disgrace all his life," the attorney general added.
