Mordechai Vanunu
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Amnesty International: Lift 'ludicrous, vindictive' restrictions on Vanunu
Human rights NGO says restrictions on former Israeli nuclear technician are 'arbitrary, unnecessary'; Vanunu spent 18 years in prison for disclosing information on Israel's alleged atom program to British press.
Amnesty International is calling on Israel to lift "ludicrous" and "vindictive" restrictions imposed on whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu that "arbitrarily infringe on his freedom of movement, expression and association," a statement released on Wednesday said.
Vanunu, a former nuclear technician at the Dimona reactor, spent 18 years in prison for disclosing information to British newspaper The Sunday Times about Israel's alleged nuclear program in 1986.
Following his release from prison in 2004, he was placed under police supervision and was the subject of a number of restrictions on his speech and movement, placed in order to prevent him from revealing further information about Israel's alleged nuclear program.
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Among other things, Vanunu is banned from leaving Israel and participating in internet chats, and must request permission to speak to any foreign nationals, including journalists.
He was arrested several times for violating these restrictions, and imprisoned again in May 2010 for attempting to leave the country, and giving interviews to foreign journalists.
"The restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu are arbitrary, unnecessary and have no grounds in international law. The continuing restrictions on his liberty have placed a severe strain on his mental and physical health and should immediately be lifted," Avner Godron, Senior Policy Adviser at Amnesty International, said.
Vanunu has repeatedly said he had revealed all he knew about Israel's alleged nuclear arsenal, and his lawyers have also noted the information he exposed in the 80s has now long become public knowledge.
His lawyers have repeatedly appealed these restrictions and consequent arrests that followed breaches of these restrictions, to no avail.
The High Court of Justice ruled in December to uphold the restrictions imposed on Vanunu. These restrictions are due for renewal next month.
