Sharon's son imprisoned as father turns 80

Ariel Sharon's son went to jail, the 80th birthday of the comatose former Israeli prime minister. Omri Sharon, 43, pleaded guilty in 2005 to having raised funds illegally for his father's 1999 Likud party leadership election campaign. The start of...

Ariel Sharon's son went to jail, the 80th birthday of the comatose former Israeli prime minister.

Omri Sharon, 43, pleaded guilty in 2005 to having raised funds illegally for his father's 1999 Likud party leadership election campaign.

The start of his seven-month prison term had been delayed due to Ariel Sharon's ill health and an appeal, rejected by the Supreme Court last month, against jail time.

Comatose since suffering a stroke in January 2006, the former general is in a long-term care facility near Tel Aviv.

Before reporting to a courthouse for transportation to a minimum-security prison, Omri Sharon, a former legislator, visited his father's bedside, Israeli media reports said.

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