Deutsche Welle, 13 May 2014
An Israeli
court has handed down a prison sentence to Ehud Olmert on bribery charges. The
former Israeli prime minister had been found guilty of a illegal real estate
scheme during his time as mayor of Jerusalem.
A Tel Aviv
district court sentenced ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to six years in
prison over a real estate scheme in Jerusalem, where he served as mayor from
1993 to 2003. The 68-year-old former head of government vowed to appeal the court
decision.
"[He]
abused his senior position as a public interest to promote his [own] interests
and received huge sums," Tel Aviv District Court Judge David Rosen read
from his 50-page sentencing.
Olmert was
also fined 1 million shekels (210,000 euros, $290,000) for the bribery charges.
In March,
Olmert was found guilty of two counts of bribery predating his 2006-2008 stint
as prime minister. According to the court's findings, Olmert accepted more than
166,000 euros from developers of the Holyland apartment complex in Jerusalem in
exchange for smoothing over legal and zoning restrictions.
Others have
been accused in the case, including Shula Zaken, who served as Olmert's aide.
The bribery
allegations against Olmert weren't the first to plague the Israeli politician.
In 2009, a separate corruption case led to his resignation from the
premiership. He was later given a suspended sentence and fined $19,000.
kms/mkg (AP, AFP,dpa)
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