[JURIST] Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday postponed the start of the prison sentence for former prime minister Ehud Olmert [Knesset profile; JURIST news archive] pending appeal on his conviction of corruption charges. Olmert was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a bribery scandal while serving as mayor of Jerusalem. Olmert will remain free until a decision on his appeal, which is expected within three months.

In May an Israeli trial court sentenced Olmert to six years in prison after he was convicted of bribery [JURIST reports] in late March. In July 2012 Olmert was acquitted [JURIST report] of two major counts of corruption but found guilty of a third lesser charge in the culmination of a three-year trial. In a 700-page ruling three senior judges of a Jerusalem court rejected the prosecution’s key accusations that as a cabinet minister and Jerusalem’s mayor before becoming prime minister Olmert received bribes from US businessman Moshe Talansky, and that Olmert defrauded Israeli charities by double-billing them for overseas fundraising trips, a charge popularly referred to as the Rishon Tours double-billing affair. Olmert was convicted of breach of trust for granting illegal favors to a long-time friend and business partner while serving as minister of industry, trade and labor between 2002 and 2007. In September 2012 the court sentenced [JURIST report] Olmert to a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of about $19,000 for the charge of breaching public trust.