The military court handed down a sentence of 18 months in prison, 12 months of probation and a demotion to the rank of Private; Azaria was found guilty of manslaughter in January.
Sgt. Elor Azaria has been sentenced to a year and a half in prison Tuesday during a sentencing hearing at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv . The special military court handed down the sentence after Azaria was found guilty of manslaughter in January.
The sentencing brings an end to a trial and national saga that lasted almost a year and thrust the debate of the IDF\’s combat ethics and soldiers squarely into the public discourse.
The prosecution had originally asked for a sentence of between three and five years in military prison, while the defense demanded that Azaria not spend a single day behind bars.
The defense is planning on filing an appeal, based on information that one of the trial\’s central witnesses has recanted their testimony. In addition, the defense is also filing a request for a postponement of incarceration until such a time as the appeal is ruled upon.
The prosecutor, Lt. Col. Nadav Weissman, is opposed to a delay and demands that Azaria begin serving his sentence as early as Sunday.
Azaria was found guilty of manslaughter in January after shooting dead a seriously wounded terrorist who carried out a stabbing attack in Hebron just moments earlier.