Israel's top court on Tuesday upheld a bribery conviction against former premier Ehud Olmert, which will make him the country's first ex-prime minister to serve jail time.
The 70-year-old, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2009, was sentenced in May last year to six years in prison on two separate charges of taking bribes in the early 2000s.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reduced his sentence to 18 months in prison, and acquitted him on one of the charges, according to a decision seen by AFP.
"Olmert has been acquitted of the felony of taking a bribe of 500,000 shekels ($128,500/117,000 euros)," the decision read, but "unanimously convicted of the felony of taking a bribe of 60,000 shekels".
"The sentencing will be for 18 months" beginning on February 15, said the decision reached by five justices.
The trial of the former premier was linked to the construction of Jerusalem's massive Holyland residential complex when Olmert served as the city's mayor.
The towering construction project, which dominates the city's skyline, is seen as a major blot on the landscape and widely reviled as a symbol of high-level corruption.
The 500,000 shekel bribe was linked to the Holyland affair, while the 60,000 bribe was related to election campaign funding.
"A heavy weight was lifted from my chest today, when the Supreme Court exonerated me of the main charge, of Holyland," a tired-looking Olmert told reporters outside the courtroom.
"I was never offered bribes, nor did I ever take any," he said.
'Nobody above the law'
The court also issued rulings on the appeals of seven other men sentenced last year, including former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski, whose six-year sentence for bribery was converted to six months of community service due to his poor health.
Isaac Herzog, head of the opposition Labour party, said the ruling "proved that nobody, not even a prime minister, is above the law."
"May this serve a lesson to public figures -- never use the power given to us... for personal gains," he said in remarks relayed by a spokesman.
Former Israeli president Moshe Katzav is currently serving a seven-year prison term for rape and sexual harassment.
Prior to his incarceration, Olmert will be in the Supreme Court on January 19 for his appeal against the Jerusalem District Court's ruling on a separate affair.
The court in May sentenced Olmert to eight months prison for fraud and corruption following a retrial over allegations that he had received envelopes of cash from a US businessman while trade and industry minister.
Born south of the port city of Haifa, Olmert was elected to parliament in 1973 as a member of the rightwing Likud party and became mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003.
He later served as a Cabinet minister, holding the trade and industry portfolio as well as several others.
He broke off from Likud with then-prime minister Ariel Sharon to form centre-right Kadima in 2005 and became premier in 2006 after Sharon slipped into a coma.
Olmert later resigned after police recommended that he be indicted in several graft cases.
AFP
Tue Dec 29 2015
![Ex-Israeli PM Olmert to serve jail time on bribery conviction Ex-Israeli PM Olmert to serve jail time on bribery conviction](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2015-12/51451386608_EhudOlmert.jpg)
Olmert (pix), who was prime minister from 2006 to 2009, was sentenced in May last year to six years in prison on two separate charges of taking bribes in the early 2000s. -AFP
Trump dan Elon Musk 'berjoget'
Kempen pilihan raya Amerika Syarikat terus hangat apabila calon presiden republikan, Donald Trump dilihat 'menari' bersama usahawan terkemuka Amerika Syarikat Elon Musk.
Dalam satu hantaran tanpa catatan di akaun X beliau pada Khamis, beliau berkongsi sebuah video yang dihasilkan oleh kecerdasan buatan (AI) melakukan gerakan tarian mengikut lagu 'Stayin Alive' oleh Bee Gees.
Dalam satu hantaran tanpa catatan di akaun X beliau pada Khamis, beliau berkongsi sebuah video yang dihasilkan oleh kecerdasan buatan (AI) melakukan gerakan tarian mengikut lagu 'Stayin Alive' oleh Bee Gees.
Suspek kes tolak isteri ke gaung akan didakwa hari ini
Lelaki berusia 39 tahun dipercayai menolak isterinya hingga jatuh gaung berhampiran KM31.2 Jalan Raya Timur Barat (JRTB) Gerik-Jeli, pada 27 Julai lalu akan didakwa di mahkamah, hari ini.
!['Lihat jasad isteri dan anak tidak lagi bernyawa' 'Lihat jasad isteri dan anak tidak lagi bernyawa'](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/81723763122_MangsaKemalangan.jpg)
'Lihat jasad isteri dan anak tidak lagi bernyawa'
Sakinah yang bekerja sebagai Penolong Pegawai Teknologi Maklumat di Pusat Kegiatan Guru Manong dalam perjalanan menghantar anaknya ke sekolah.
Kerajaan terus perkasa agenda bagi memudahcara perniagaan
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata Kerajaan MADANI akan terus memperkasa agenda bagi memudahcara perniagaan (Ease of Doing Business).
Dalam satu hantaran di media sosial beliau pada Khamis, beliau berkata usaha itu akan terus dipergiat meski negara telah mencatatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi yang positif dan peningkatan dari segi kecepatan kelulusan pembangunan.
Dalam satu hantaran di media sosial beliau pada Khamis, beliau berkata usaha itu akan terus dipergiat meski negara telah mencatatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi yang positif dan peningkatan dari segi kecepatan kelulusan pembangunan.
1.5 penjawat awam tahu kadar gaji baharu hari ini
Lebih 1.5 juta penjawat awam di negara ini akan mengetahui kadar gaji baharu masing-masing apabila berita gembira itu akan diumumkan oleh Perdana Menteri di PICC, hari ini.
Presiden Palestin umum bakal lawat Gaza
Presiden Palestin Mahmoud Abbas pada Khamis mengumumkan bahawa beliau merancang untuk melawat Semenanjung Gaza, walaupun serangan Israel yang telah membunuh lebih 40,000 orang setakat ini masih berterusan.
Mahmoud yang berucap kepada parlimen Turkiye di Ankara semasa sesi khas mengenai Palestin, beliau akan mengadakan lawatan tersebut bersama pemimpin Palestin yang lain.
Mahmoud yang berucap kepada parlimen Turkiye di Ankara semasa sesi khas mengenai Palestin, beliau akan mengadakan lawatan tersebut bersama pemimpin Palestin yang lain.
Parlimen Thailand putuskan siapa PM baharu
Parlimen Thailand hari ini akan bersidang bagi bagi mengadakan mesyuarat khas memilih seorang Perdana Menteri baharu susulan keputusan mahkamah yang menyingkirkan Srettha Thavisin, Rabu lepas.
![Lima termasuk doktor didakwa atas kematian Matthew Perry Lima termasuk doktor didakwa atas kematian Matthew Perry](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/71723762175_MatthewPerry.jpg)
Lima termasuk doktor didakwa atas kematian Matthew Perry
Defendan mengambil kesempatan daripada isu ketagihan Perry untuk meraih kekayaan bagi diri mereka.
![Presiden Palestin umum lawatan ke Gaza di tengah serangan berterusan Israel Presiden Palestin umum lawatan ke Gaza di tengah serangan berterusan Israel](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723756050_MahmoudAbbas.jpg)
Presiden Palestin umum lawatan ke Gaza di tengah serangan berterusan Israel
"Saya mengumumkan kepada anda dan dunia bahawa saya telah memutuskan untuk pergi ke Semenanjung Gaza bersama semua pemimpin Palestin."
![Tokyo siap sedia hadapi Taufan Ampil Tokyo siap sedia hadapi Taufan Ampil](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723756932_TokyoJapan.jpg)
Tokyo siap sedia hadapi Taufan Ampil
Central Japan Railway Co. batalkan semua perkhidmatan kereta api laju Tokaido Shinkansen antara Tokyo dan Nagoya sepanjang hari pada Jumaat.