ISRAEL: An Israeli court yesterday sentenced Ariel Sharon's son, Omri, to nine months in jail for the illegal funding of his father's 1999 campaign for the leadership of the centre-right Likud party.
With national elections less than two months away, the sentencing immediately sparked questions over whether the Kadima (Forward) party set up by Mr Sharon, and which leads in the polls, would be weakened.
Omri Sharon (41) pleaded guilty in November last year to perjury, violating party funding laws and falsifying corporate documents. Under a plea bargain, charges of fraud and breach of trust were dropped, but the prosecution insisted he serve time in prison.
The sentence was viewed by politicians and jurors as a step meant to deter politicians from violating party finance laws. "This is a swamp of political corruption and it must be dried up," Judge Edna Beckenstein wrote in the ruling.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said the court's decision should serve as a "warning light" to elected officials that the judicial system would not show any compassion in cases where the electoral process had been undermined.
The defendant, who resigned his seat in parliament last month ahead of the sentencing, was also given a nine-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay a $63,500 (€53,379) fine. The court said he would not have to begin serving his sentence immediately in light of the fact that his father is still in a coma in a Jerusalem hospital. His lawyer said he would appeal the sentence.
According to the charge sheet, Omri Sharon raised sums of money for his father's primary campaign that were seven times more than the legal limits set by party financing laws. A straw company was set up to channel the funds to his campaign, instead of them being deposited in the official campaign bank account. Mr Sharon won the party leadership race and became prime minister in 2001.
Opponents of Kadima latched on to the court ruling, saying it was an indication of how the party functioned.
"This is a party that epitomises the corrupt links between wealth and government," said Shelly Yachimovich, who is running on the Labor Party list in the upcoming elections.
The sentencing, however, is unlikely to impact on the popularity of Kadima, which holds a huge lead in the opinion polls.