Israeli court upholds manslaughter conviction, 18-month sentence against Elor Azarya
July 30, 2017 4:16 P.M. (Updated: July 30, 2017 4:16 P.M.)
▻http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?ID=778432
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An Israel court upheld the manslaughter conviction and the 18-month sentence levied against former Israeli soldier Elor Azarya on Sunday for the execution-style shooting of 21-year-old Palestinian Abd al-Fattah al-Sharif in 2016.
Azarya was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to a year and a half in prison for shooting and killing al-Sharif as the disarmed Palestinian lay severely wounded on the ground after allegedly committing a stabbing attack in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron in March 2016.
Azarya’s defense team appealed both the manslaughter conviction and the 18-month jail sentence for being too harsh, while the Israeli military prosecution had submitted an appeal to increase the sentence.
According to The Times of Israel, the appeal court judges ruled to maintain the manslaughter conviction, calling Azarya’s act “forbidden, severe, immoral” and claiming that “ethics are fundamental for an army’s resilience both externally and internally.”
The judges voted three to two in favor of upholding the sentence.“The punishment is on the lower edge of appropriate sentencing,” the judges noted, while lamenting that “such an excelling soldier committed such a terrible error.”
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Hebron Shooter Loses Manslaughter Appeal, Israeli Soldier to Serve Full 18-month Sentence
Gili Cohen Jul 30, 2017 4:07 PM
▻http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.804122
Sgt. Elor Azaria, who killed an incapacitated Palestinian assailant in Hebron, was ’unreliable,’ judge says ■ Court rejects prosecution’s appeal for harsher sentence ■ Lieberman and Bennett call on family to request pardon