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Omri Sharon. Why is this man smiling? (AP)
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| By israelinsider staff and partners July 26, 2005 |
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| Son and father in more buoyant days. (AP) |
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Attorney General Meni Mazuz announced Tuesday evening that Knesset Member Omri Sharon, son of the Prime Minister and his closest confidant, will be charged with serious offenses in connection with alleged illegal political fundraising after plea bargain talks failed.
Earlier in the day, Arutz 7 reported, quoting senior police sources, that there was abundant evidence to indict and convict Ariel Sharon himself but that prosecution and police were hesitant to bring charges due to the political impact such an indictment would have. The source said that the state prosecution decided that "it's unreasonable to topple a government over criminal cases." In fact, the Attorney General decided not to press charges against the PM.
Justice Ministry officials said that the plea bargain of the PM's son fell through due to Mazuz's reported insistence on including serious penal code offenses in the indictment. Omri Sharon had demanded a six-month sentence served out as community service, while Mazuz insisted on nine months, some of which was to be served in prison. In a trial, if the PM's son is convicted, the Judge would be free to assess another punishment.
The charge sheet against Sharon junior includes breach of trust and false testimony, referring to offences apparently committed during Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's campaign in the 1999 Likud party primaries.
In 2001, police began to suspect that the prime minister and his son illegally raised millions of shekels to finance a campaign in the Likud party primaries and later in the election for prime minister. The investigation revealed suspicious transfers of huge amounts of funds from Sharon family friends, including South African war buddy Cyril Kern, an investor in the Jericho Casino, in which Omri and close personal adviser Dov Weissglas have maintained an intense interest. Coincidentally, reports emerged Monday of the involvement of Kern in a new scheme to invest in a new Casino and hotel complex to be built on the remnants of a Jewish community in Gaza.
Despite the indictment, many analysts believe that the sides will reach an agreement before a trial. The Attorney General's Office had to wait for Tuesday night's passage in the Knesset of a law that removes automatic immunity from parliament members, enabling him to indict a legislator without first appearing before a Knesset committee.
In a letter sent to Knesset chairman Reuven Rivlin and committee chairman Ronny Bar-On, Omri Sharon formally gave up his immunity. In the letter, Sharon reported that he had violated the Parties Law, ynet reported.
Sharon complained about the stringency of the law, which said was never before enforced. "I am the one and only to be tried for violating it," he wrote, according to the newspaper, adding that "I am ready to face justice. I will argue my case before the court that sits in judgment of me."
There is not yet any word on which Judge will sit on Sharon's case. Critics suggested that there remained plenty of time for the Sharon family to use their influence in the judicial selection process, as they have not hesitated to do in the past.
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