Ex-Israel PM Olmert gets 18 months in prison for corruption

Judge David Rozen, who sentenced him to prison past year, wrote that a person at such a senior position who accepts bribery “is like a traitor to his people” as he had “used his elevated positions to make money or for personal gain”.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been ordered to serve 18 months in prison after Israel’s highest court on Tuesday partially accepted an appeal of his 2014 bribery conviction.

When Olmert enters jail on 15 February he will become the first Israeli leader to ever be behind bars.

The court found him guilty in March 2014 of taking bribes from developers seeking to build a luxury apartment complex while he was the mayor of Jerusalem more than a decade ago.

In a statement to the media following the sentence, which can not be appealed, Olmert reiterated that he had never accepted bribes but said he respected the court’s decision.

2012 — Olmert is acquitted of most serious allegations in corruption trial, raising hopes for a political comeback.

In some ways, Tuesday’s decision was a success for Mr. Olmert.

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.

Olmert, who was premier between 2006 and 2009, is to start his sentence on Feb 15.

“I’ve said in the past, that I was never offered, and that I never received bribes and I say this also today”, Olmert told reporters at the court after the ruling. Both occurred shortly after he took office.

Olmert was acquitted of accepting a 500,000 shekel (about $130,000) bribe but was convicted of accepting a 60,000 shekel (nearly $16,000) bribe.

The court struck down one bribery conviction for Olmert’s part in the so-called Holyland scandal, but upheld another.

Among those convicted included former Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski and Danny Dankner, the former chairman of Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s second-biggest bank.