Israeli president rejects pardon of convicted soldier Elor Azaria

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday rejected a request to pardon a soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a Palestinian man.

His decision came after the Israeli military chief of staff reduced the sentence for Elor Azaria, 20, who shot dead 21-year-old Abdel al Fattah al-Sharif at close range in Hebron.

A statement by Rivlin’s office confirmed that it had formally rejected the pardon for Elor Azaria.

“President Reuven Rivlin today took the decision to deny the request for pardon filed by Elor Azaria,” it said in an English-language statement, exactly one month after the jailed soldier submitted the request.

Azaria’s sentence was reduced from 18 to 14 months and announced nearly a year after he shot a bullet from a close range into the head of Sharif.

The former Israeli soldier shot dead Sharif in March 2016. The incident was caught on video by a human rights group and this was later spread online and went viral.

 

Read the whole story from Middle East Eye.

Featured image courtesy of AP