Families of two Israeli businessmen, Rony Fuchs and Zeev Frenkiel, convicted in Georgia over bribery charges, have appealed President Saakashvili with a request to pardon the two men, their defense lawyer, Archil Kbilashvili, said. 

“Because of [convicts’] age and health problems, their children request the President to pardon [the convicts]. We submitted the petition on April 20 and now it’s up to the President to decide whether to heed or not the request,” Kbilashvili told Tbilisi-based Maestro TV.

According to lawyer, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, visited the convicts in prison and wished them early release.

On April 1 Tbilisi City Court found Fuchs and Frenkiel guilty of offering bribe to Georgian official; the both of them denied charges. Fuchs was sentenced to seven and Frenkiel to six years and six months in jail.