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Israel: Ex-PM guilty of graft, cleared on other charges

Dunya News

Olmert faced three primary allegations in the first trial.

An Israeli court on Tuesday found former prime minister Ehud Olmert guilty on one charge in a closely watched corruption case, but cleared him on two other charges, in a verdict he hailed as just.The decision to convict Olmert on the lesser charge of breach of trust over favours he granted a colleague during his time as minister could jeopardise Olmerts political future. But the Jerusalem district courts acquittal of the former leader on the two more serious corruption charges, related to his alleged receipt of cash-stuffed envelopes and multiple-billing for trips abroad, was seen as a victory for Olmert.We unanimously decided... to convict the defendant on the felony of breach of trust, the three judges overseeing the case wrote in the verdict.Olmert still faces a second trial over allegations he accepted bribes during his time as Jerusalem mayor to smooth the way for the construction of the massive Holyland residential complex in the city. But his acquittal on the most serious charges against him, including the allegations that forced him to resign as premier in 2008, was described as a win for him by political observers.The first charge, on which he was convicted, related to favours he granted a former colleague, Uri Messer, during his time as trade and industry minister.Olmert was also accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from Jewish-American businessman Morris Talanski, in return for promoting his companies in Israel. And he was alleged to have engaged in multiple-billing of trips overseas, on occasions charging as many as four different institutions for the same trip, in what was dubbed the Rishon Tours affair.But he was acquitted on both those charges, with judges saying the evidence failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Olmert was guilty. The former premier hailed the verdict outside the courtroom.There was no corruption, I received no money, there were no cash envelopes, there was nothing from all of these things they tried to attribute to me, Olmert told reporters. The Talanski and Rishon Tours affairs were at the heart of the accusations levelled against me and I have been cleared on both these cases. It was all false, he said.He acknowledged his conviction on the third set of allegations, but said the judgment described his behaviour as procedural misconduct.