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Ehud Olmert convicted in corruption case Ehud Olmert convicted in corruption case
(about 2 hours later)
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has been cleared of two charges of corruption but found guilty of investment fraud. Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister, has been cleared of two charges of corruption but found guilty of another count by three senior judges at a Jerusalem court. The surprise ruling allows the former leader to walk away from a sensational three-year trial largely exonerated.
The decision was announced on Tuesday morning by a panel of three Jerusalem judges, concluding a trial that has spanned three years. An emotional Olmert told reporters outside the courthouse that he respected the court's ruling. After thanking the court for conducting the proceedings with dignity, he said: "I feel the need to quote a man I admire, former prime minister Menachem Begin, who once said 'There are judges in Jerusalem'."
The charges were filed after Olmert became prime minister in 2006, but stemmed from his time as mayor of Jerusalem and later as a cabinet minister and covered three separate allegations. Olmert was impeached in 2008 on charges of fraud, breach of trust, false entries in corporate documents and acquisition through fraudulent means in cases that have popularly become referred to as the Rishon Tours double-billing affair, the Talansky affair and the Investments Centre affair. Each charge carries a mandatory three-year prison sentence. He was acquitted of these charges due to reasonable doubt.
The charge of which he was found guilty centred on granting illegal favours to his longtime friend and business partner, Uri Messer, while serving as Israeli trade minister. It became known in Israel as the investment centre affair, since Messer had applied to the centre for state grants and other benefits. The 700-page ruling, read in full to the court by President Justice Moussia Arad, ordered the former Israeli leader to serve four months' community service for granting illegal favours to Uri Messer, a long-time friend and business partner, while serving as minister of industry, trade and labour, a position he held between 2002 and 2007. Messer had applied to the ministry's investment centre for state grants and benefits.
Olmert was acquitted on charges in two other cases, known as the Rishon Tours affair and the Talansky affair, where he was accused of receiving double or triple reimbursements for trips and illegally receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Shula Zaken, Olmert's former bureau chief and co-defendant, was also cleared of charges that she illegally recorded Olmert's conversations but was convicted of acquisition through fraudulent means and breach of trust in the Rishon Tours case.
When the former PM took to the witness stand in May 2011, he told the court: "I am fighting for my life here." The verdict has stunned many of Israel's most prominent legal figures, who say the ruling "came out of left field".
Olmert, who stepped down as prime minister in 2008, is reported to feel he has been wrongly persecuted and is keen to re-establish himself as a leading figure in his Kadima party. Michael Partan, a former prosecutor and CEO at the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, stressed that Olmert was found not guilty on the basis of doubt and an inability to prove the former prime minister's mental state.
He still faces trial in a bribery case concerning a Jerusalem property development project that is expected to take at least another year. "There is no doubt he enjoyed benefits as a result of his public activities. The question is how did this come about. The prosecution would not have launched a case against such a high-profile figure unless it was convinced beyond reasonable doubt [of his guilt]," Partan said.
"In such cases of impropriety, when you have a former prime minister taking envelopes of cash and double-billing flight tickets, the average person would say there is something going on here that needs airing. I have no doubt this verdict will be appealed."
In a statement following the verdict, Eli Abarbanel, Jerusalem's district attorney, admitted the ruling had taken his office by surprise.
"We can't make light of the fact that he was convicted of a very serious offence. The court criticised Olmert and found him at fault for gross conflict of interest in hidden dealings with Uri Messer," the statement read.
"Public servants are obligated to maintain the public interest, which Olmert breached time and again in his time on the industry ministry."
Olmert has steadfastly protested his innocence since the scandal broke, insisting he was being unfairly persecuted by the state attorney and state prosecutor, Moshe Lador. When he first took to the witness stand in May 2011, he told the court: "I am fighting for my life here."
Within an hour of the judgment, at 9am on Tuesday, Olmert's supporters and his detractors were both outspokenly claiming the ruling as a victory that both vindicated and condemned the former prime minister.
"The state prosecutor not only has to quit, he has to commit suicide," Amnon Dankner, one of Olmert's closest friends and a former editor of the Maariv newspaper, told assembled TV crews.
Zahava Gal-On, leader of the leftwing Meretz party, said Olmert's conviction for corruption should "require him to leave politics".
The former Kadima leader had indicated he would launch a political comeback if he were acquitted – although any such campaign is likely to be suspended until a separate charge of corruption against him is resolved. Olmert was indicted in May this year on charges of accepting a bribe to promote the construction of various housing projects, including the vast Holyland complex in Jerusalem.
But speculation over when and with which party Olmert will relaunch his political career has already begun.
"Yair Lapid is a close family friend and has just created a political party. He defended [Olmert] in a surprisingly emphatic way in a recent interview," said Gil Hoffman, a senior reporter at the Jerusalem Post , who suggested Lapid's Yesh Atid may prove a natural base for Olmert's political revival.