The parole board of Maasiyahu Prison on Thursday decided that former prime minister Ehud Olmert will be released from prison on Sunday, July 2. The State Attorney’s Office strongly opposed the decision and is expected to request that the release delayed and may appeal the decision.
About a week and a half ago, the board, headed by retired Justice Rachel Greenberg, deliberated Olmert’s case after it had rejected the state’s request to postpone the hearing because of the investigation that was launched against the prisoner.
The current investigation against Olmert involves a suspicion that he exposed sensitive security information in some chapters of a book that he wrote and passed on to others outside the prison. According to the State Attorney’s Office, the public exposure of information relating to two Israeli military operations is liable to cause serious damage to state security.
Olmert was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his conviction in the Talansky and Holyland cases obstruction of justice. He began to serve his sentence in February 2016.