IDF denies it ‘blackmailed’ Azaria’s defense

The IDF denies a claim made by the lawyer representing a soldier convicted of manslaughter that military prosecutors “blackmailed” the other defense attorneys into quitting.

Earlier today, three out of four members of Elor Azaria’s defense team quit after filing an appeal on behalf of the soldier, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison last month for killing a wounded, unarmed Palestinian assailant.

Yoram Sheftel, the only attorney left on the defense team, accused the army of “blackmailing” his colleagues. Their decision to quit was caused by “a meeting they held with the military advocate general on Sunday,” Sheftel said at a press conference.

“They were told… if you file an appeal, then the military prosecutor will file an appeal,” he said.

The implication is that the prosecution would argue in their appeal that the 18-month sentence for Azaria’s manslaughter conviction is insufficient and demand a harsher punishment. During sentencing, the chief prosecutor Lt. Col. Nadav Weissman demanded a three- to five-year prison term.

“This borders, in a sense… on blackmail,” Sheftel said.

In a statement, the army says it “rejects to the end” Sheftel’s claim, but did not dismiss the possibility of military prosecutors filing an appeal. “The military advocate general will continue to work substantively. The decisions whether or not to file an appeal has yet to be made, but will be in the coming days,” the army says.

— Judah Ari Gross