JERUSALEM — Former defense minister Yitzhak Mordechai said Wednesday he plans to continue fighting to prove his innocence regarding his conviction on two charges of committing an indecent act, one in aggravated circumstances, after a Jerusalem court upheld the convictions. The court cleared him of a third charge.
His lawyers told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing that they would ask the Supreme Court for permission to appeal the district court’s ruling.
A panel of three judges — Jerusalem District Court President Vardi Zeiller and Judges David Cheshin and Yehudit Tzur — heard appeals against the Jerusalem Magistrates Court ruling by Mordechai and the state prosecution. The state sought a stiffer penalty than Mordechai’s suspended sentence.
On April 29, the lower court sentenced Mordechai to 18 months’ suspended sentence after convicting him on two charges of committing an indecent act in aggravated circumstances against “Aleph,” who served as the head of his bureau in 1992. One of the incidents took place in Netanya and the other in Bat Ya’ar, near Safed.
In a separate incident, the court also convicted him of charges of committing an indecent act against “N,” a married woman and the wife of a distant relative, who came to his house looking for work.
Regarding the case of Aleph, Mordechai’s lawyers did not contest the fact that he had committed an indecent act, but claimed he had not used force in doing so. The distinction is critical: Committing an indecent act is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a seven-year statute of limitations. Since the acts against Aleph were committed in 1992, he could no longer be indicted on these charges and they would have to be dropped altogether.
However, committing an indecent act in aggravated circumstances (i.e. as a result of using force) is a felony in which the seven-year statute of limitations does not apply. Therefore, a conviction on these charges would stand.
But even Zeiller, who ruled to exonerate Mordechai of both felony charges, made it clear that the former minister had committed acts of moral turpitude.
Mordechai, who looked as stern and grim as he has throughout his trial, told reporters afterwards: “I will continue to fight with all my strength and all the force of my soul to prove my innocence regarding this entire affair.”
His lawyers took an upbeat approach to the district court’s decision. “The court accepted part of our appeal,” said Moshe Shahal, one of four attorneys comprising Mordechai’s legal team. “This must be remembered. The state’s appeal was rejected. We believed the [lower] court erred in its interpretation of the law. With regard to the charges involving Aleph, I consider that we had a 50 percent success at least.”
In response to reporters’ questions, a defense lawyer confirmed that Mordechai can return to political life if he wants, but added that “all that we have heard [from Mordechai] is his hope to clear his name and be found innocent of all the charges against him. Returning to politics is a secondary issue for him right now.”
Jerusalem District prosecutor Eli Abarbanel sounded upbeat after hearing the decision. “We opened this case with three charges against Mordechai. We remain with the heart of the case against him intact and we can be satisfied with the outcome.”