Shas party asks Peres to pardon imprisoned former MK Benizri

Shas Chairman and Interior Minister Eli Yishai asked President Shimon Peres on Sunday to pardon imprisoned former Shas Member of Knesset Shlomo Benizri.

Benizri, who is expected to begin serving his four-year prison sentence on September 1 after being convicted for bribery and other violations, made a separate request to the Supreme Court on Sunday to delay his entry into prison by one-and-a-half months.

Yishai's appeal to Peres came in the form of a letter, the contents of which were shown Sunday evening on Channel 2.

"As a public servant, as a Jew of Middle Eastern descent and as a deputy prime minister, I am of the opinion that there is no request for clemency more justified than this," Yishai wrote of Benizri.

Shas is planning to hold public shows of support for Benizri in the coming weeks.