YJN – by Aryeh SavirA former prime minister of Israel, is facing a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of bribery, the Tazpit News Agency reported.
On Monday, a court in Tel Aviv convicted Ehud Olmert on a charge of bribery after he accepted cash bribes when he was mayor of Jerusalem.
When relating to the case, Justice David Rosen spoke of a “corrupt political system which has decayed over years, and in which hundreds of thousands of shekels were transferred to elected officials.” The court implied that Olmert lied during his testimony in court.
Olmert received bribes when he was mayor of Jerusalem in return for the advancement of the Holyland building project, a massive monstrosity of a project which overshadows all of Jerusalem.
10 of the 13 defendants were convicted along with Olmert, including Olmert’s secretary and close confidant Shulah Zaken, who turned on Olmert last week. At the last moment, Zaken came forward with new evidence against her former boss.
The prosecution requested a two week postponement in order to allow the police to complete their and for Zaken to testify against Olmert, but Judge Rosen rejected their request and rendered his verdict today.
Zaken provided the prosecution with a recording in which Olmert allegedly tried to convince her not to sign a state witness deal. The police’s anti-fraud unit is now investigating Olmert, who could be facing charges of obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Olmert has several other pending court cases against him involving corruption charges.
Note that it says “faces jail”.
Not quite the same as actually being in jail, is it.