Jerusalem – The Israeli Supreme Court rejected three appeals on Wednesday morning in corruption cases involving former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Olmert had appealed a previous ruling, and its rejection means that he will serve eight months in prison in addition to the 19 months he is currently serving for bribery in the Holyland real estate case.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Olmert was convicted for receiving and using over US$150,000 in envelopes from US businessman Morris Talansky between 1993 and 2002. The trial began in 2008, when Olmert was prime minister. Olmert appealed the ruling, but it was unanimously rejected.
The Supreme Court also rejected two more appeals filed by the state against Olmert’s acquittal in the ‘Rishon Tours’ corruption case, and against his relatively lenient punishment of a suspended sentence for the ‘Investment Center’ affair. The rulings were issued in Olmert’s absence.
Olmert, who was elected prime minister in 2006 and served in that role until 2009, is the first prime minister in Israeli history to serve a prison term. He was first charged in 2009 with fraud, bribery, tax evasion, and breach of trust in a number of different corruption cases. He was convicted of breach of trust in 2012 and of bribery and obstruction of justice in May, 2014.
Olmert has now served seven months at Maasiyahu Prison, located in the central Israeli city of Ramla. Olmert is serving his term in Block 10, a high-security wing designated for prisoners who have held positions of influence such as judges, policemen, and public figures.
He is due to be released in May 2018.
Omg… every other israely polition is a criminal there, what a funny dtate this is.
I give Israel full credit for locking up their crooked politicians.