Military Advocate General opposes Azaria's request to delay sentence
The military prosecution strongly opposes Elor Azaria's request to delay serving his prison sentence until IDF chief responds to his clemency request, noting this would set an undesirable precedent and be an exception to military law.
President of the Military Court of Appeals, Maj. Gen. Doron Piles, is expected to either rule on the issue or set a date for a hearing on the request.
Azaria is scheduled to begin his 18-month sentence at Prison 4 in Tzrifin on Wednesday after being convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a neutralized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron in March 2016.
The Military Advocate General issued a statement, saying, "There is no basis in reality to Azaria's claim that the ruling becomes final sooner if a request for clemency is submitted earlier. Military justice states that serving a prison sentence is immediate and delaying that execution of sentence here is an exception to the rule.
"The immediacy of punishment is based here on the discipline upon which the military establishment rests. There is no justification for Azaria's case to be different than those of other soldiers who request clemency; soldiers who only do so after they begin serving their sentences."
The Military Advocate General also indicated that acquiescing to Azaria's request risks setting a precedent in which soldiers due to serve prison sentences can delay their punishment until they receive a response for clemency requests.
Eisenkot will only be able to discuss Azaria's request after September 7, when the verdict becomes peremptory.
For this request to be taken into serious consideration, Azaria would need to both express remorse for his actions and take responsibility for them, neither of which he has done thus far, not even in his request to the IDF chief.
Regardless, if such a request is submitted, Eisenkot is obliged to consult with the Chief Military Advocate General, Brig. Gen. Sharon Afek, for a legal opinion first and only then may he respond.
