At the meeting of the military commission for early release, Elor Azaria's request for parole on the Pesach holiday was discussed.
Recall that Elor Azariya, the sergeant of the brigade "Kfir" March 24, 2016 shot and killed an Arab terrorist in Hebron, for which he was accused of manslaughter. He was found guilty by a military court that found that the wounded and defused terrorist was already lying on the ground and did not present a concrete and immediate danger to nearby civilians and military personnel when Elor Azariya killed him with a shot in the head. As the judge pointed out, the accused tried to prove contradictory versions: that at the time of the shot the terrorist was already dead and that he fired, feeling a danger.
In an appeal signed on behalf of Azariah, convicted for the manslaughter of terrorist Abd al-Fattah ash-Sharif, it was said in part: "Pesach is a holiday of freedom, and therefore I ask you to let me return home on the eve of the holiday ". Azariah added, as in the previous time, when he asked for pardon, that he was shooting at a "terrorist murderer," and this is exactly what he saw at that moment in front of him.
"If I knew then about what I learned only post-factum, I would have done otherwise," Azariah repeated.
Addressing the commission members, Azariah stressed: "I was a good soldier, loyal to military duty. Even when I was hit by a stone thrown by one of the Palestinians and I was wounded, I still returned to service, still serving, all with the same motivation as before. The wound is too heavy, it bleeds too much, and it hurts not only me, not only my family, but all those who are rooting for me, who are worried about me. I ask you to set me free. "
Colonel Sharon Zgagi Pinkhas, the chief military prosecutor, said during the discussion: "We oppose the liberation of Elior Azaria, since he served only half of the time. His early release can be considered by the commission, as I believe, only if he leaves two-thirds of the sentence punished by the sentence. " "Zgagi Pinkhas stressed. According to her, the crime committed by the prisoner is of a conscious nature, it is by no means committed by mistake or negligence, and, therefore, inflicts enormous damage to the reputation of the Israeli army.
The prosecutor was also agreed by the head of the commission, Lieutenant-Colonel Maya Goldschmidt.
"The prisoner did not take responsibility for the crime committed and did not repent, and today we also did not hear from him words of remorse."
At the same time, the prosecutor noted that in Elor Azaria does not pose a threat to society, there are no considerations that prevent his request for an expulsion after nine months in prison.
Despite the reservations mentioned above and even objections, if there are no special changes, El Azaria can come out on May 10 this year. The commission's decision will be published in the coming days.
Commenting on today's discussion of Charlie Azaria, Father Elior, remarked: "We are not abandoned by the hope for justice, we believe in this hope. She has my son, she is with all people who believe in Alyora. "
As always, lawyer Joram Sheftel, who represented Azaria's interests at the final stage of the trial: "The punishment of Alyor was too harsh, even in the opinion of the Chief of the General Staff, was very serious, and this is unprecedented. There has never been such a thing since the establishment of the state, when the chief of staff of the army, at the time of sentencing, called upon Azariah to ask the court for indulgence, about easing punishment, and with such an unambiguous hint that even an elephant would understand him. "
Recall that Elor Azariya, sentenced to a year and a half years in prison, began serving his term on August 9 last year. On September 27, the chief of the general staff, Gadi Eisenkot, reduced his term of imprisonment to Azaria by four months, while the president of the country, Reuven Rivlin, refused to pardon Elior Azaria.