Israel ex-PM Olmert jailed for graft
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to eight months in prison for corruption yesterday, the latest legal blow in a spectacular fall from grace.
Lawyers for Olmert, who was premier from 2006 to 2009, crowning a political career spanning decades, immediately announced they would appeal.
The 69-year-old already faces a six-year prison sentence handed down in a separate bribery case which is the subject of an appeal to the supreme court.
He remains at liberty until the appeals have been heard, but will have to serve the two jail terms consecutively if they are upheld.
The Jerusalem district court convicted Olmert of fraud and corruption in March following a retrial over allegations that he had received envelopes of cash from a US businessman while trade and industry minister in the early 2000s.
The judges also handed Olmert an additional suspended eight-month prison term and a 100,000-shekel fine in what they said was a "light sentence in recognition of the contribution to the country made by Ehud Olmert".
Olmert has always insisted on his innocence, describing the allegations as "a brutal, ruthless witch-hunt".
His defence team said they would appeal as there was "no evidence of personal use by Olmert" of the money handed over by US businessman Morris Talansky.
The former premier had initially been acquitted of fraud and corruption in the case, escaping in 2012 with a $19,000 fine and a suspended jail sentence for breach of trust.
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