Legal professionals and critics have raised serious concerns about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a presidential pardon, submitted to President Isaac Herzog on Sunday.
Attorney Kobi Sudri discussed the matter on 103FM on Monday with hosts Anat Davidov and Prof. Aryeh Eldad, raising doubts about the legal validity and intent behind the request.
“The pardon request – although widely referred to as such – does not meet the substantive conditions of an official request,” Sudri said. “This raises suspicion that its purpose is not purely legal. Someone who is certain of his innocence does not require a pardon.”
Sudri emphasized the legal limitations of commenting on proceedings he is not involved in.
“I am very careful about expressing an expert opinion on a legal proceeding that I am not part of,” he said. “Even when I am part of a legal process, I am not sure I can provide a full opinion on how it will unfold. There is no such thing as a pardon request without the applicant accepting responsibility.”
Long-standing political consequences
Turning to the broader context of Netanyahu’s ongoing trial, Sudri commented on the long-standing political consequences.
“People tend to forget what we have gone through over the past five or six years – repeated elections and collapsing governments. Even before October 7, one of the key issues was governmental neglect and an excessive focus on legal proceedings.”
Sudri also criticized the omission of the October 7 Hamas attack in Netanyahu’s letter to Herzog.
“If you read the request, you’ll see many paragraphs listing Netanyahu’s achievements. But I didn’t see a single sentence referring to that ‘minor’ event called October 7. Nothing. Nada.”