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- Jan 30, 2008
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Israel ex-President Katsav to begin jail term for rape
Disgraced former Israeli President Moshe Katsav is due to arrive at a prison outside Tel Aviv west-central Israel to begin a seven-year term for rape.
He will leave his wife behind at home in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi and head to Maasiyahu minimum-security prison.
Katsav's case entranced and horrified the Israeli nation.
He was convicted a year ago, but was allowed to remain free while he appealed the sentence.
Katsav, who turned 66 on Monday December 5, resigned from the largely ceremonial post of president in 2007, but has always insisted he is innocent.
But in November the Supreme Court unanimously upheld his conviction for raping a former employee when he was a minister in the 1990s, and for sexually harassing two other women during his 2000-2007 presidential term.
"Moshe Katsav will go to jail as planned (on Wednesday December 7) and will receive the same conditions as other prisoners," Israel's minister for internal security, Yitzhak Aharonovich, reportedly told Israel Radio on Tuesday.
Suicide watch
Katsav will be placed in the prison wing reserved for observant Jews and will share a cell with ex-government minister Shlomo Benzri in a move intended to ease his transition, reports said.
He will be assigned a special warden to ensure he does not attempt suicide, Prisons Service chief Aharon Franco told a Knesset hearing on Tuesday, said the Jerusalem Post.
Inmates in the religious section rise at 04:30hrs, attend morning prayers and spend much of their time in religious study, with no access to television.
After serving a quarter of his sentence, Katsav could become eligible for spells of leave away from prison and could even apply to have his term reduced, Associated Press quoted Prisons Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman as saying.
But he would have to admit guilt and express remorse, she said - something he has so far refused to do.Katsav is the first former Israeli head of state to be jailed.
Israeli women's groups welcomed his conviction, saying allegations of sexual harassment were too often ignored.
-BBC
The Standard | Israel ex-President Katsav to begin jail term for rape
