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Israeli Whistleblower Vanunu Condemned to New Jail Sentence
By Aviad Glickman
Global Research, May 12, 2010
Y Net News 11 May 2010
Url of this article:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/israeli-whistleblower-vanunu-condemned-to-new-jail-sentence/19115

Nuclear whistleblower to serve three-month jail sentence after refusing to perform community service western part of capital for fear of harassment. Prosecution: He has information that can still jeopardize state’s security 

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Mordechai Vanunu, found guilty of divulging State nuclear secrets to the British press, will serve a three-month jail sentence handed to him by Jerusalem District Court and not community service, as he requested.

Vanunu asked the court if he could perform community service only in east Jerusalem, claiming that there were significant concerns that Jews in the west of the city would harass him should he serve there. The justices offered him to perform his service in the west in accordance with a professional opinion submitted to them, but he refused.

Attorney Dan Eldad of the state prosecution told Ynet after the ruling that the court had examined all of the possibilities to avoid handing Vanunu an additional prison term, but in the end there was no other choice, because he had breached every court order.

“The court was convinced that Vanunu is in possession of information that, if revealed, would jeopardize the state’s security even today, 24 years after he was arrested for the first time,” said the attorney.

“Therefore, law enforcement authorities cannot ignore the repeated breaches of the terms of his parole,” the attorney said. 

In 2008, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentenced Vanunu to six months in prison for meeting with foreign nationals, a breach of his parole conditions.

On April 21, 2004, Vanunu completed serving his 18-years sentence. He was place under various security restrictions prior to his release, and was forbidden from leaving Israel, entering any of the Palestinian Authority territories, and talking to foreign press. He is also required to report all his actions to his parole officers. 

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