Former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert starts 19-month jail sentence
JERUSALEM — Hours before he went to jail on Monday, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert released a home -made video protesting his innocence and maintaining that he had never taken bribes while serving in public office.
He then left his spacious villa in the Jerusalem hills, escorted by his security detail and trailed by news photographers, and entered Maasiyahu Prison in nearby Ramle to begin serving his 19-month sentence. His drive to jail was carried live on Israeli television.
Olmert is the first Israeli prime minister to spend time behind bars, a fact that commentators here acknowledged with a mix of both pride and shame.
Pride that the Israeli justice system in this case was both robust and impartial, that even the rich and powerful can be held to account. And shame that an internationally known Israeli leader could be exposed as a dirty politician who not only solicited bribes, but conspired to obstruct justice.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/former-israeli-prime-minister-olmert-starts-19-month-jail-sentence/2016/02/15/5ba666f1-4816-433e-890a-49067e2907ae_story.html
