IDF Appeals Court judge to Azaria lawyer: You are making useless arguments
The IDF prosecution has counter-appealed the sentence as too lenient, seeking a three to five year jail sentence.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBLe soldat Elor Azaria (photo credit: REUTERS)
In a sign that the Hebron shooter’s appeal is not going well, IDF Appeals Court Judge Zvi Segel on Monday took the unusual step of reprimanding Elor Azaria’s defense lawyer, Yoram Sheftel, for not using more effective arguments in his defense.Segel told Sheftel that he is wasting his time on sensational arguments which are legal and factual stretches or which are barred because they were not raised as part of the original trial.The comments were made in the second day of Azaria’s oral arguments in his appeal of his 18 month sentence for manslaughter for killing Palestinian terrorist Abdel Fatah al-Sharif on March 24, 2015 as he lay nearly motionless on the ground, and around 10 minutes after Sharif had attacked two Israeli soldiers.The IDF prosecution has also counter-appealed the sentence as too lenient, seeking a three to five year jail sentence.During the hearing the judges did also question the IDF prosecution, criticizing Azaria’s commander, IDF Maj. Tom Naaman, for failing to take disciplinary action against Azaria after he shot Sharif and for potential problems in his testimony.