以色列前总理即将入狱

Israel\'s Supreme Court Tuesday partially overturned a bribery conviction against former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. His sentence was reduced from six years to 18 months in prison.

Olmert expressed relief, saying a great burden has been lifted from his heart.

The ex-prime minister, who is 70, was convicted two years ago by a lower court of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to promote a controversial real-estate project in Jerusalem. This allegedly occurred when he served as the mayor of Jerusalem, prior to becoming prime minister in 2006.

Olmert denies it.

He says, “I was never offered and I never took a bribe.”

Nevertheless, while the Supreme Court overturned some of the bribery charges, it upheld others. Therefore, Olmert will become the first former Israeli leader to spend time behind bars.

State Prosecutor Liat Ben Ari says justice was served.

She says “the case represents a watershed in the war against corruption in Israel.” The justice system, Ben Ari says, has sent a strong message that “no one is above the law.”

奥尔默特对此表示欣慰，并表示他的心头卸下了一副沉重的负担。

现年70岁的前总理奥尔默特两年前被一家下级法院判定收受贿赂的罪名成立。他被指控受贿数万美元，支持耶路撒冷一处有争议的房地产工程项目。他当时还是耶路撒冷市的市长，是在2006年担任总理之前。

奥尔默特对这一指控表示否认。

他说，“从来没有人要贿赂我，我也从来没有接受过贿赂。”

虽然以色列最高法院部分推翻了对他的受贿指控，但也维持了其他一些指控。因此，奥尔默特将成为以色列第一位入狱的前总理。

以色列国家检察官本阿里说，正义得到了伸张。她说，“这一案件成为以色列反腐败战争的分水岭。”她说，以色列司法制度发出了一个强烈的信号-- “没有人可以超越法律。”