A rights group petitioned the High Court of Justice Tuesday against the commuting of former MK Naomi Blumenthal's jail sentence by President Shimon Peres.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQGI) claims Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's recommendation to sweeten the former Likud lawmaker's sentence played a critical role in Peres' decision and that it unfairly discriminated against others convicted under similar circumstances.

Lawyers on behalf of the MQGI asked the court to issue a temporary injunction against the president's decision until a hearing is held over the matter.

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If the presidential commute is approved, Blumenthal will be required to perform community service instead of serving an eight-month prison term.

The Likud party politician was convicted of bribing 15 party activists and central committee members. She hosted them and their spouses at a Ramat Gan hotel before the December 2002 party primaries in a bid to win votes ahead of the elections. She was also found guilty of obstruction of justice.

Blumenthal was sentenced last March to eight months in jail and ordered to pay a NIS 75,000 fine. Upon hearing of Peres' decision to commute Blumenthal's sentence, her family expressed their satisfaction with the president's decision.

Many notable public figures, such as Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and former president Yitzhak Navon, supported Friedmann's recommendation to commute Blumenthal's sentence. For her part, Blumenthal did not seek to overturn her conviction, opting to acknowledge her guilt and appeal for a lighter sentence. In her defense, Blumenthal noted she had a clean criminal record and her offense was a one-time occurrence. She also stressed that the court did not describe her offense as aggravated.

However, late last March, the court decided to reject her appeal for a reduced sentence. In their decision to reject Blumenthal's appeal, the judges noted that after her offenses had been exposed, she conspired to compile a false statement to mislead the court: "The appellant insisted that witnesses deliver false versions to the police, which they indeed went on to do."