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            Israel's Olmert Denies Wrongdoing as he Heads to Prison

   by Associated Press

   Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is denying any wrongdoing,
   just hours before heading to prison to start serving his 19-month
   sentence.

   Olmert is the first Israeli premier to go to prison. He will be serving
   time for a bribery conviction and for obstructing justice.

   In a video released on Monday, Olmert says he "rejects outright" the
   bribery charges.

   The 70-year-old Olmert was convicted in March 2014 in a wide-ranging
   case that accused him of accepting bribes to promote a controversial
   real-estate project in Jerusalem. The charges pertained to a period
   when he was mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister, years before he
   became prime minister in 2006.

   Olmert's seven-year legal saga undermined the last serious round of
   Mideast peace talks and propelled hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin
   Netanyahu to power.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/ap-israel-olmert-denies-wrongdoing-as
   -he-heads-to-prison/3191230.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ap-israel-olmert-denies-wrongdoing-as-he-heads-to-prison/3191230.html