Fresh out of jail, Ehud Olmert goes shopping
Hours after leaving Ma’asiyahu Prison, former PM buys clothing, is greeted by hundreds of well-wishers at a Tel Aviv mall
Hours after his early-morning release from prison on parole, former prime minister Ehud Olmert went shopping Sunday in Tel Aviv’s newest upscale mall.
The management of the TLV Fashion Mall said in a statement that Olmert “purchased a few items” before bumping into IDF Maj.-Gen. Avi Zamir, who works as the mall’s CEO. Zamir formerly served as the military personnel chief during Olmert’s tenure.
The statement from the mall said that hundreds of shoppers came up to greet Olmert and wish him well.
The disgraced former prime minister was paroled from Ma’asiyahu Prison earlier in the day after serving 16 months out of a 27-month sentence for corruption convictions.
Earlier Sunday, Olmert, 71, who served as premier between 2006 and 2009, submitted a request to President Reuven Rivlin to have his parole restrictions removed entirely.
According to Israel Prisons Service statute, prisoners who are granted early release are required to meet a series of conditions until the completion of their prescribed sentence. These include a prohibition on leaving the country, twice-weekly check-ins with a parole officer at a police station twice a week and weekly meetings with a Prisons Service social worker.
Prisoners who fail to meet the conditions risk being sent back to prison to complete their original sentence. In Olmert’s case, these restrictions are set to remain in place until May 2018.
Olmert’s attorney Eli Zohar told The Times of Israel that if granted, the request would not remove the “moral turpitude” designation that accompanied the conviction and sentencing, a designation that prevents Olmert from returning to political office for seven years from his release. That could only be mitigated by a full presidential pardon.
Zohar would not comment on whether Olmert planned to make such a request.
Olmert was one of eight former officials and businessmen convicted in March 2014 in the Holyland real estate corruption case, which has been characterized as among the largest graft cases in Israel’s history.
Tamar Pileggi and Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.