An IDF committee is reviewing the application of the former Head of Equipment Branch. Opinions are divided as to the probable position of the Military Advocate-General.
Over the next few days, a military committee will continue its deliberations on the application of former Brigadier-General Rami Dotan, erstwhile Head of IAF Equipment Branch, for his sentence to be commuted to half its original term. Dotan was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment, demotion to the rank of private and a dishonourable discharge, after confessing to accepting $12 million in bribes from General Electric, supplier of engines to the Israel Air Force.
Dotan was arrested at the end of October 1990. If his sentence is commuted, he will be released next May.
IDF procedures provide that a prisoner is entitled to be released after serving half his sentence, if his behaviour has been good. The prison term can be even further shortened, if the prisoner is not in good health. Dotan seeks both concessions.
Medical opinions submitted to the committee describe Dotan’s condition as severe. For several years, Dotan has been suffering from high blood pressure. Even at the time of his trial, his defending counsel presented an opinion according to which Dotan had a life expectancy several years less than the Israeli average. While in prison, Dotan has undergone surgery on his abdomen, colon and leg.