Mordechai Vanunu

{{Audio|He-Mordechai_Vanunu.ogg|Mordechai Vanunu}} (מרדכי ואנונו) (born October 13, 1954), also known by his baptismal name John Crossman, is an Israeli former nuclear technician who revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently lured to Rome by an American Mossad agent, abducted and smuggled to Israel, where he was tried behind closed doors and convicted of treason.

Release

In 2004, shortly before his scheduled release, Vanunu remained defiant under interrogation by the security service Shin Bet. In recordings of the interview made public after his release, he is heard saying "I am neither a traitor nor a spy, I only wanted the world to know what was happening." He also said, "We don't need a Jewish state. There needs to be a Palestinian state. Jews can, and have lived anywhere, so a Jewish State is not necessary." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3640989.stmhttp://www.icej.org/cgi-local/view.cgi?type=headline&artid=2004/04/20/461718665

Related Topics:
Shin Bet - Jewish state - Palestinian state

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Vanunu was released from prison on April 21, 2004. He indicated a desire to completely dissociate himself from Israel, refusing to speak in {{ll|Hebrew}}, and planning to move to Scandinavia, Ireland or France as soon as the Israeli government would permit him to do so.

Related Topics:
April 21 - Scandinavia - Ireland - France

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A number of restrictions were placed upon Vanunu by Israeli authorities, who stated their reason was fear of him spreading further state secrets and that he is still bound by his non-disclosure agreement. These stipulate that he:

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• has to register to live in an Israeli city of his choice.
• has to give notice to the authorities if he wishes to travel to another city.
• is not allowed to leave Israel for 6 months. This restriction has since been extended to April 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4459371.stm.
• is not allowed to contact foreigners either by phone or in person.
• is not allowed to enter any embassy, visit any port of entry, or come within 500 metres of any international border crossing.

Vanunu says that his knowledge is now all outdated, and that he has nothing more he could possibly reveal that is not already widely known. Despite the stated restrictions, since his release Vanunu has freely given interviews to the foreign press, including a live phone interview to BBC Radio Scotland.

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On April 22, 2004, Vanunu asked the Norwegian government for a Norwegian passport and asylum in Norway for "humanitarian reasons", according to Norwegian news agencies. He also sent applications to other countries, and stated that he would accept asylum in any country because he fears for his life. Former conservative Norwegian Prime Minister Kåre Willoch has asked the conservative government to give Vanunu asylum, and the University of Tromsø has offered him a job. This application, as well as an application for asylum in Sweden has been rejected, since neither country accepts absentee asylum applications.

Related Topics:
April 22 - Norwegian government - Passport - Asylum - Norway - Kåre Willoch - Sweden

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