Ehud Olmert to be granted early prison release: lawyer
Parole committee to free jailed ex-prime minister early after he was rushed to hospital with chest pains, lawyer says.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be granted an early release from prison, his lawyer says, citing a decision from a parole committee.
Olmert, who was in office between 2006 to 2009, was serving a 27-month prison sentence for corruption.
The former prime minister was convicted in 2014 in a wide-ranging case that accused him of accepting bribes to promote a real-estate project years before he took office.
His imprisonment capped a stunning fall from grace that ended Israel’s last serious round of peace efforts with the Palestinians and ushered in the era of Benjamin Netanyahu.
READ MORE: Ehud Olmert Profile
Olmert, 71, was rushed to hospital on Tuesday after he complained of chest pains while exercising, his doctor said. Medics ruled out a heart attack after series of examinations, Israeli media reported.
Last week, Israel’s justice ministry asked police to investigate whether Olmert committed a “criminal offence” while behind bars.
It said the book Olmert is writing contains “sensitive security issues” and that his lawyer was caught leaving the prison with a chapter on “secret operations” not approved by the censor for publication.