The Supreme Court accepted an appeal on his behalf and shortened the sentence to seven months, of which Sharon served two-thirds.
By ABE SELIG, JPOST STAFFOmri sharon triple chin (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Omri Sharon, a former member of Knesset and the son of former prime minister Ariel Sharon, was freed from Ma'asiyahu Prison in Ramle on Wednesday after five months in jail.
Sharon declined to talk to reporters upon his release from jail.
"He was released and he went home," said Yoram Zamir, a spokesman with the Israel Prisons Authority. "There's not much more to it."
Sharon was originally sentenced to nine months in prison after he was convicted of falsifying corporate documents, perjury and violating the Campaign Finance Law, all stemming from a scandal that erupted during his father's 1999 Likud primary campaign.
The Supreme Court accepted an appeal on his behalf and shortened the sentence to seven months, of which Sharon served two-thirds.
In addition to the jail sentence, Sharon was fined NIS 300,000, and will remain classified as a "prisoner on leave" by the Israeli Prisons Authority until the seven months of his sentence are up.
His early release on Wednesday came after he was found eligible for parole based on good behavior.
Sharon's brother, Gilad, met him outside the prison, along with a large contingent of reporters, with whom Sharon refused to speak.
Sharon has three daughters, although he is not married to their mother.
Serving his sentence at the Ma'asiyahu Prison, which holds mostly white collar convicts and prisoners undergoing rehabilitation, Sharon spent his time as a teacher to other inmates.
During his jail term, Sharon was granted two 48-hour leaves.
His request for an early release was submitted to an IPS committee headed by a former judge, even though Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann recently told President Shimon Peres that he did not think it advisable to recommend shortening Sharon's prison term or exchanging part of it for community service.
Nonetheless, Sharon walked free on Wednesday, with the understanding that he does not violate any of the terms of his parole, which include registering at police headquarters every two days.
Violation of the terms would land the former Likud MK back in prison to serve the remainder of his prison term.
Sharon had initially argued that his sentence should be commuted for an equivalent number of community service hours so that he would be able to continue his vigil at the bedside of his father, who has been in a coma since January 2006.
His lawyers had argued that the former prime minister's chances of recovery would be lowered considerably without the regular presence of his son.
