Israel Prison Service denies former PM furloughs over classified documents in his possession
After classified documents were found in the possession of Ehud Olmert, who is currently serving a prison term for corruption, the IPS decided to punish him until further notice; for now, vacations and telephone calls are off the table.
The IPS is checking whether the materials are related to the book Olmert is writing in prison, where he is serving time after having been convicted of corruption. The matter was transferred to senior officials in the Ministry of Justice for treatment, and they will consider what to do next.
Thursday, one of Olmert's lawyers visited him in prison. The documents were seized during that visit. Additional documents were also seized that lacked approval from the person responsible for information security in the Ministry of Defense.
As a result of the incident, that person ordered the investigation of the matter and involved the intelligence services of the IPS.
The prisoner's lawyer issued a statement that claimed: "Olmert does not need any authorization regarding his ties to Israel's national security. He never leaked, either during his term or since, anything sensitive to security or intelligence matters that could have harmed the State of Israel.
"During his prison sentence, Olmert wrote an autobiographical book about his life and his actions concerning social, economic and defense issues. This book was transferred in its entirety to (the Military) Censor over two months ago and no one, especially Mr. Olmert, has any intention to publish it without their approval.
"Beyond the book, no classified information was leaked, transferred or published by Mr. Olmert."
