Stas Misezhnikov enters Hermon prison
Stas Misezhnikov enters Hermon prisonBasel Awidat/Flash9

Former Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov will appear on Monday before a parole board in an attempt to shorten his prison sentence.

Last month, President Reuven Rivlin rejected Misezhnikov's request for a pardon. The president's decision was based on the fact that this was a request to ease the prison sentence imposed on serious offenses by a very senior public official.

Misezhnikov entered prison in December after he signed a plea bargain agreement in which he pleaded guilty to charges of breach of trust. According to the deal, the disgraced former minister will serve a 15-month sentence and pay a fine of 70,000 NIS. Misezhnikov admitted that he told organizers of a music festival in Eilat that they would only receive government funding if they would agree to hire his girlfriend.

Misezhnikov managed to avoid criminal charges stemming from his rampant drug use, including cocaine. In 2014 Channel 2 reported that he had been known for his heavy drinking, drug use,and wild parties which lasted until the early hours of the morning.

In addition, the report alleged that Misezhnikov was unable to attend a crucial cabinet meeting in 2010 concerning whether to release terrorists in return for captured soldier Gilad Shalit due to having been intoxicated at the time. Misezhnikov's bodyguards had also complained to the Defense Ministry numerous times that his lifestyle of substance abuse and drinking was making it impossible for them to effectively guard him.