Ehud Olmert
Photo: Tal Shahar
Almost one year after going to prison for corruption offences, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has asked that his sentence be pardoned from President Reuven Rivlin.
The President’s Residence issued a statement on the matter: “The request is being dealt with by the relevant officials, as every pardon request is dealt with, and has been transferred to the Justice Ministry for the submission of its opinion.”
The pardon request for Olmert, who is serving a 27-month prison sentence, was submitted by his lawyers Eli Zohar and Ram Caspi.
Olmert is set be released from jail in the summer of 2018. However, if a third of his sentence is deducted, he will be discharged in October this year.
Last September, the Supreme Court rejected three appeals by Olmert and ordered that he serve eight months in prison in addition to the 18 months he was already serving for bribery in the Holyland real estate case.
Olmert was convicted for receiving and using over $150,000 in envelopes from US businessman Morris Talansky between 1993 and 2002.
The trial began in 2008, when Olmert was prime minister. Olmert appealed the ruling, but it was unanimously rejected.