Posted on 08/18/2006 5:18:25 PM PDT by Alter Kaker
Justice Minister Haim Ramon informed Attorney General Menahem Mazuz on Friday that he intended to forfeit his immunity and right to an appeal and would resign from his post on Sunday.
Ramon asked Attorney General Meni Mazuz to ensure a speedy trial "for personal reasons, but also because of public interest."
"I am sure that I will succeed in court. A kiss of two, three seconds, based on the version of the complainant, cannot be turned into a criminal act," Ramon said in a statement.
The Movement for Quality Government welcomed Ramon's resignation.
He will stand trial on charges of committing an indecent act without consent, Mazuz informed Ramon on Thursday.
He is suspected of having used force to kiss a female soldier on the lips and insert his tongue into her mouth on the day the soldier celebrated her last day of work as a clerk in a government office.
Ramon has denied the charges. His aides have claimed the soldier flirted with him and gave him her phone number.
On Friday, the Ma'ariv daily published another complaint against Ramon. A woman said that the justice minister forcefully hugged her, but Ramon says he can remember no such incident.
According to precedent-setting decisions by the High Court of Justice regarding Aryeh Deri, who was interior minister when he was indicted, and Raphael Pinhasi, who was chairman of the Knesset House Committee when he was indicted, anyone holding a senior government position must resign if an indictment is filed against him.
A similar situation applies to MK Tzahi Hanegbi, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Mazuz informed Hanegbi on Tuesday that he intended to indict him in 30 days unless he asked the Knesset to uphold his parliamentary immunity and the Knesset agreed. If the indictment is filed, it appears that Hanegbi will also have to resign.
"In the final analysis," wrote Mazuz, "the act of the alleged crime between the minister and the plaintiff lasted a few seconds, without witnesses, and the difference between the minister's version of events and that of the plaintiff focuses on these seconds. In a situation of one account against the other in this kind of incident, and when the testimony of the plaintiff is consistent and appears credible and is even strengthened and supported by other testimony, there is no recourse but to file an indictment and bring the matter to the court to decide.
"It should be emphasized that beyond the evidence, which is sufficient to warrant an indictment according to regular criteria, the nature of the crime and of those involved, when we are talking about suspicions of sexual harassment against a minister, and when the plaintiff is a soldier, and the incident occurs during work hours and inside a government office - this suspicion cannot be left without making a decision regarding it, and there is a very important public interest in making a clear judicial decision regarding it."
Mazuz told Ramon the evidence established "a reasonable chance of conviction," the threshold which the High Court has declared necessary to indict a suspect.
On August 15, the police handed over the evidence gathered during the investigation to Mazuz and stated that it was sufficient to indict Ramon. Mazuz also wrote that State Attorney Eran Shendar and other prosecutors had agreed with the police.
The incident reportedly took place on July 12. The affair was revealed almost two weeks later, when Tel Aviv District Court partially lifted a publication ban.
The complaint was submitted by a woman identified as "Heh." Ramon was questioned by police for seven hours on July 27. On August 8, after police concluded there was substance to the allegations, they held a video conference confrontation between Ramon and "Heh," who had in the meantime gone abroad.
I dunno. Sounds like the woman WAS flirting with him. He could have misread her intentions or she could have goaded him into it. There is a big difference between a kiss and a Monica special.
Whatever happened to the good, old fashioned, slap across the face?
"He is suspected of having used force to kiss a female soldier on the lips and insert his tongue into her mouth on the day the soldier celebrated her last day of work"
This almost never happened in my old army units.
Or the time-tested knee to the groin? If the allegation was true, I'm sure everyone would understand such a reflex, especially in a trained soldier.
Lawyers. And juries.
"Or the time-tested knee to the groin? If the allegation was true, I'm sure everyone would understand such a reflex, especially in a trained soldier."
When the great LA police chief Daryl Gates was being harassed by the media about female policemen being sexually harassed while in uniform, Gates pointed out that they already had a gun, tear gas, and a billy club, and were trained, uniformed, police persons, just what more did the media think he could do?
The Olmert government is just one long tragicomic sideshow, isn't it?
Maybe this guy's been hanging around here and got fired up!! And now fired!!
I was looking at next year's calendars at Borders today. Too bad there isn't one for the Girls of the IDF.
Yes, but, didn't their alleged harassers have all the same training and equipment?
"Yes, but, didn't their alleged harassers have all the same training and equipment?"
Do you think the males were ready to engage the women in deadly hand to hand combat, to be able to make remarks they weren't supposed to make?
If even a cop thinks the men are harassing her and she is helpless to their masculine ways, then maybe she shouldn't be there.
No, I didn't expect any brawls, but with all the accessories being equal, they still seem to think they can make a quick buck alleging harassment by playing the "Helpless female" card.
As to your second point, it's a good one. What are they going to do on the street when some drunk decides to make their life difficult?
If you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen! :-)
Hey now. Any pics of the soldier chickee he smooched?
"Justice" Ministers that kiss soldiers, Army Generals that use intelligence reports not to ready the army but to sell stocks, Omert's government is one smell pile of shi'ite.
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