Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Set to Enter Prison Today
Tel Aviv, 7 Jumadal Awwal 1437/15 February 2016 (MINA) – Ehud Olmert on Monday will arrive at Ma’asiyahu Prison in Ramle at 10 a.m. and become the first prime minister in the history of the state to serve time in prison.
His sentence is set to run for at least 18 months, but depending on possible appeals by Olmert and by the state, could run as long as 27 months, The Jerusalem Post Sunday reported.
Olmert will stay in a special wing with extra security outside his cell at all times – though the Prisons Service says it is taking over his security from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) – and only inmates who have gone through a strict screening process will live in his wing.
The former prime minister’s wing will also have a separate area for eating, medical and other activities from the majority of the inmates.
Yet other than these measures designed to protect Olmert physically and to protect state secrets, by preventing him from being in a position where other inmates could extort information from him, the Prisons Service has said he will mostly be treated like other prisoners.
That means he is allowed seven books at a time, a television with limited channels, a DVD player, a pillow from home and a few other basic amenities, but will face many of the heavy restrictions of prisoner life.
He enters prison as a result of his Holyland conviction for bribery from March 2014; his 18-month sentence was reduced from an original sentence of six years by the Supreme Court in December.
That conviction related to a request by Olmert to businessman and real estate broker Shmuel Duchner for NIS 60,000 for his benefit through his confidantes Shula Zaken and Uri Messer.
At the same time, by a 4-1 vote, the Supreme Court tossed out Tel Aviv District Court Judge David Rozen’s conviction of Olmert on a more serious charge for Olmert having allegedly asked that Duchner give NIS 500,000 to his brother, Yossi Olmert.
The Holyland trial involved 16 defendants, 13 of who were convicted of participating in the biggest bribery scheme in the state’s history, including eight (including Olmert) sentenced by the Supreme Court.
The other seven were: former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski, former Bank Hapoalim chairman Dan Dankner, former Jerusalem chief engineer Uri Shitrit, former Jerusalem deputy mayor Eli Simhayof, Holyland Complex owner Hillel Cherney, Holyland Park founder Avigdor Kellner and bribery middleman Meir Rabin. (T/P4/R03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
