Ex-leader rejects plea bargain
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Israel’s former president, Moshe Katsav, called off a plea bargain that would have required him to admit sexual misconduct to avoid jail time.
Katsav appeared in a Jerusalem court and unexpectedly said he was rejecting the deal because he wanted to clear his name.
The move was a gamble. Under the plea deal, which Katsav had previously accepted, prosecutors would have dropped the most serious charges against him and the former president would have avoided jail.
Katsav, 62, stepped down in late June after four female former employees accused him of a series of sex crimes, including rape, assault and harassment.
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