Elor Azaria and his mother Oshra
Photo: EPA
Terrorist's family decries 'lenient sentence' for Elor Azaria
Uncles of Abed al Fatah al-Sharif, who was shot dead while neutralized after committing a terror attack, lament court's decision to uphold 18-month sentence; 'It doesn’t matter because it won’t bring Fatah back to life'; Azaria’s mother calls chief prosecutor ‘evil.’
The family of the terrorist Abed al Fatah al-Sharif, who was shot and killed by Elor Azaria after being neutralized while carrying out a stabbing attack in Hebron in 2016, has bemoaned the lenient sentence of 18 months imprisonment which was upheld in the Military Court of Appeals Sunday.
Speaking shortly after the court rejected an appeal filed for Azaria, al-Sharif’s uncle said that the conviction was the correct decision, but stated that he had no faith in the judicial system for what he described as a light sentence.
Elor Azaria and his mother Oshra (Photo: EPA)
“It doesn’t matter because it won’t bring Fatah back to life,” said the terrorist’s uncle Samir al-Sharif. “The rejection is right but on the other hand, I have no faith in the court that sentenced him to only a year-and-a-half and didn’t make the punishment harsher.
“After the first verdict we already expressed our opposition to the fact that only a year-and-a-half was handed down because this is a person who committed manslaughter. A person who commits a crime like this should be imprisoned for his whole life,” he continued.
Oshra, Elor and Charlie Azaria (Photo: Reuters)
Eighteen months, he insisted, was a “joke, it’s nonsense.” The minimum that the family wanted from the court, he added, was ten years, “but at least he received something and they didn’t simply let him go.”
Another uncle of the terrorist said that the family didn’t really follow the events of the appeal, repeating that they had already lost faith after the original verdict.
“The court didn’t listen to our family from the outset of the trial, but it doesn’t matter. Our son is dead and he won’t be coming back, even if the soldier gets a life sentence it wouldn’t help us. We want one thing—something to change the reality. We want to look ahead to our children’s future and their children. Leave the land you have occupied and there will be peace.”
Photo: Reuters
Fuming from the court’s decision, Azaria’s mother Oshra lashed out against the Chief Prosecutor Lt. Col. Nadav Weissman, denouncing his as “evil” before bursting into tears. Elor’s father, Charlie accused the court of “castrating the military.”
Before the decision on the appeal was even made, the appellant’s sister Ettie uploaded a post to Facebook slamming the courts. “Court of Justice?...Where is the justice? Black day for the nation of Israel.”
Similarly, Elor’s brother Adir also posted a Facebook message scolding the courts. “No future! No hope! Not dream! Thanks alot IDF 2017! We are always by your side and behind you, little brother.”
