
Azaria in court
Photo: Motti Kimchi
The Chief Justice of the Military Appeals Court, Maj. Gen. Doron Piles, will lead the judges panel that will hear the two appeals in the Azaria case—the soldier's
appeal's against his manslaughter conviction
and the military prosecution's appeal of the lenient sentence given to Azaria.
Two non-military judges will also sit on the panel: Judge Yigal Plitman, who serves as the chief justice of the national labor court, and Judge Zvi Segal of the Jerusalem District Court.
Two IDF officers who are not jurists will complete the panel: Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Eizenberg, who served in his last role as the GOC Home Front Command, and Brig. Gen. Avi Peled, the former commander of the Golani Brigade.
Elor Azaria was convicted in January of the manslaughter of a neutralized terrorist who had carried out a stabbing attack in Hebron just moments earlier in March 2016.
The court’s decision to sentence him to 18 months in prison was met by a significant public outcry to pardon him, most notably from several senior political figures, leading Azaria to appeal.
The Military Advocate General also filed an appeal against the leniency of the sentence.
(Translated and edited by Yaara Shalom)