News / Palestine

Israeli court sentences Ehud Olmert to 18 months in prison

Tuesday, 29 December 2015 2:48 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 29 December 2015 2:48 PM ]

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert delivers a statement to the press as he comes out of the courtroom at the Supreme Court in the occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem) on December 29, 2015. (AFP photo)

An Israeli court has sentenced former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to 18 months in prison over a bribery case, forcing him to serve behind bars in early 2016.

The supreme court of the Tel Aviv regime announced on Tuesday that an initial six-year jail term given to Olmert over his involvement in sweeping bribery scandal was reduced to 18 months, saying that he will begin serving behind bars on February 15.

Olmert, 70, known for his responsibility during the aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip in 2008 and the war against Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah in 2006, will be the first Israeli leader to be ever imprisoned by the regime.

He was convicted in 2014 in a wide-ranging case on charges of accepting bribes to promote a controversial real estate project in the occupied al-Quds.

The charges dated back to the time of Olmert as mayor of the occupied city and Israel’s trade minister, years before he became prime minister in 2006.

Olmert said he was “satisfied” with the reduction in his jail term, adding that he will accept the court ruling.

Olmert was forced to step down over the controversial case in 2009, preparing the ground for the rise of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Olmert is also appealing a separate eight-month sentence for unlawfully accepting money from a supporter in the United States.

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