Israel’s top court sends ex-PM Olmert to 18 months in prison

An extended panel of five judges in the Jerusalem Supreme Court accepted several clauses of Olmert’s appeal and rejected others, and made a decision to decrease his prison sentence from six years to one and half years in prison.

The Supreme Court is yet to rule on Olmert’s appeal in that case.

Olmert said he was “satisfied” with Tuesday’s decision, but called it a “hard day”. The case is under appeal to the Supreme Court.

(Olmert) “A large stone has been lifted from my heart…”

Following the sentencing Olmert was quoted as saying that he’d never accepted a bribe but would respect the court. “And I say that again today”.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) sits next to foreign minister Tzipi Livni at the weekly cabinet meeting on September 28, 2008 in Jerusalem, Israel. He was elected prime minister in 2006 after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke.

2007 — Olmert relaunches U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians in Annapolis, Maryland. Olmert enjoyed a warm relationship with then-President George W. Bush.

The Palestinians have said his assessment was overly optimistic. I was neither offered nor did I receive bribes.

July 2006 — Olmert leads Israel in unpopular monthlong war in Lebanon after Hezbollah guerrillas capture two Israeli soldiers in cross-border raid. Both occurred shortly after he took office.

Barring a surprise change, Olmert will be the first Israeli prime minister to spend time behind bars.

Rozen said that Duchner was always careful to make sure sponsors like Olmert knew he had given bribes to secure their help with the Holyland project.

Olmert was forced to step down over the controversial case in 2009, preparing the ground for the rise of Benjamin Netanyahu. The court reduced his original sentence from six years in jail to a year and a half to commence on February 15, 2016. He was released from jail in 2002 and, after a almost 10-year hiatus, returned to political life in 2013. Tuesday’s conviction included a ruling of “moral turpitude”, barring him from politics for an additional seven years after leaving prison.

BEIJING – A low-ranking Chinese energy official accused of hiding more than $30 million in cash at home in one of the country’s most sensational corruption cases admitted his guilt during a court appearance Tuesday in northern China.