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May 26, 2015

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Olmert gets 8 months鈥 jail in graft case

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced yesterday to eight months in prison for unlawfully accepting money from a United States supporter, capping the dramatic downfall of a man who only years earlier led the country and hoped to bring about a historic peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Olmert was convicted in March in a retrial in Jerusalem District Court. The sentencing comes in addition to a six-year jail sentence he received last year in a separate bribery conviction, ensuring the end of the ex-premier鈥檚 political career.

Olmert鈥檚 lawyer, Eyal Rozovsky, said Olmert鈥檚 legal team was 鈥渧ery disappointed鈥 by the ruling and would appeal to Israel鈥檚 Supreme Court. They were granted a 45-day stay, meaning the former Israeli leader will avoid incarceration for now. Olmert also was given a suspended sentence of an additional eight months and fined US$25,000.

Olmert was forced to resign in early 2009 amid the corruption allegations. His departure cleared the way for hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 election, and subsequent peace efforts have not succeeded.

Olmert, 69, was acquitted in 2012 of a series of charges that included accepting cash-stuffed envelopes from US businessman Morris Talansky when Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem and a Cabinet minister. Olmert was found to have received about US$600,000 from Talansky during his term as mayor, and additional amounts in cash during his term as a Cabinet minister, but a court did not find evidence the money had been used for unlawful personal reasons or illegal campaign financing.


 

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