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Ehud Olmert begins prison sentence following bribery conviction

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Ehud Olmert has started his 19 month prison sentence, becoming the first former Israeli prime minister to go to jail.

He began the sentence on Wing 10 of Ma’asiyahu Prison on Monday following his conviction for bribery and obstruction of justice in the Holyland case, relating to the years he was mayor of Jerusalem between 1992 and 2003.

Olmert was sentenced to six years in 2014. The term was reduced to 18 months in December, but an extra month was added last week for obstruction of justice.

In a video released on Monday, the 70-year-old, who was prime minister from 2006 to 2009, said he "rejects outright" the bribery charges but said that he accepts the verdict with "a very heavy heart".

He was found guilty of accepting a 500,000-shekel (£89,000) bribe from developers of one real estate project and a 60,000-shekel bribe in connection with another, when he was Mayor of Jerusalem.

But the Supreme Court subsequently cleared him of the charge of accepting the 500,000-shekel bribe and reduced his sentence to 18 months.

The Supreme Court is yet to rule on an appeal by Olmert against an eight-month prison sentence he was handed last year after being convicted of fraud and breach of trust.

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