Azaria requests appeals hearing on delaying start of prison term

Former IDF soldier Elor Azaria, convicted of shooting dead a wounded Palestinian stabber, asks the Military Court of Appeals to hold a hearing Tuesday to put off the date he is set to begin his prison sentence.

The request from Elor Azaria was made by his lawyer Yoram Sheftel, who, in a letter to the court, said the case’s “uniqueness” justified a delay and that a ruling determining the sentence must start on the court-mandated date was “baseless,” Channel 2 reports.

Former IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a supine, injured Palestinian attacker in 2016, waits before the start of his appeal sentencing hearing in the Kirya military base, Tel Aviv, July 30, 2017. (Avshalom Sasoni/Flash90)
Former IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a supine, injured Palestinian attacker in 2016, waits before the start of his appeal sentencing hearing in the Kirya military base, Tel Aviv, July 30, 2017. (Avshalom Sasoni/Flash90)

Azaria’s request to the appeals court comes after military prosecutors said earlier in the day they opposed his request to delay his entry to prison until the chief of staff rules on whether to commute his manslaughter sentence.

After a military court rejected his appeal last month, Azaria asked IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot to commute or shorten his 18-month sentence.

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