More than two months after Margalit Har-Shefi\'s parents requested a Presidential pardon for her, President Moshe Katzav finally announced his decision this morning: a decision not to decide. Margalit was convicted of not preventing the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin, given the fact that a fellow university student, Yigal Amir, told her of his desire to kill the Prime Minister.
Katzav announced today that he would make a final decision on the pardon request only after the Prisons Service committee makes its own decision, approximately a month from now, as to whether she may be released on parole after serving half her sentence. What this means is that she will continue to sit in prison for several more weeks, until the parole board decides on her case. If it is decided to release her on parole, she will have served 4.5 months of her sentence, including a few weeks immediately after the assassination. If and when the parole board deems her undeserving of parole, however, the President plans to then issue his final decision on her case.
Katzav announced today that he would make a final decision on the pardon request only after the Prisons Service committee makes its own decision, approximately a month from now, as to whether she may be released on parole after serving half her sentence. What this means is that she will continue to sit in prison for several more weeks, until the parole board decides on her case. If it is decided to release her on parole, she will have served 4.5 months of her sentence, including a few weeks immediately after the assassination. If and when the parole board deems her undeserving of parole, however, the President plans to then issue his final decision on her case.