Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert faces jail after graft conviction
It is the first time a former Israeli premier has been convicted of bribery in what has been called one of the worst corruption scandals in the country's history. Sentencing will take place later, but legal experts say such a conviction will almost certainly entail time in prison for Olmert.
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert was yesterday convicted of corruption linked to a major property development in Jerusalem.
It is the first time a former Israeli premier has been convicted of bribery in what has been called one of the worst corruption scandals in the country's history. Sentencing will take place later, but legal experts say such a conviction will almost certainly entail time in prison for Olmert.
Olmert was convicted of two counts of receiving bribes linked to construction of Jerusalem's massive Holyland residential complex dating from when he was the city's mayor.
"We're talking about corrupt and filthy practices," Judge David Rosen said while reading out the verdict.
He also spoke of a "corrupt political system which has decayed over the years... and in which hundreds of thousands of shekels were transferred to elected officials".
Rosen also said the former premier had lied to the court in a bid to "blacken the name" of the state's witness.
Olmert sat expressionless throughout the verdict.
