Press release - 12 May 2010
AI Index: PRE01/154/2010
Amnesty International today urged the Israeli government not to imprison nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who is facing a return to jail within days.
The Israeli Supreme Court ruled on 11 May that Vanunu, who served 18 years in prison for revealing information about Israel’s nuclear programme, must serve a further three months for meeting a foreign national, a violation of the restrictions imposed on him by the military since his release.
“If Mordechai Vanunu is imprisoned again, Amnesty International will declare him to be a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and unconditional release,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Vanunu, 56, who is banned from leaving the country, told Amnesty International on 12 May: “Whether I go to prison or not, it doesn’t matter to me. I feel like I’m in prison already, trapped in Israel.”
A former technician at Israel's nuclear plant near the southern town of Dimona, Vanunu revealed details of the country's nuclear arsenal to UK newspaper The Sunday Times in 1986.
He was abducted by Mossad agents in Italy on 30 September 1986 and secretly taken to Israel where he was tried and sentenced to a prison term of 18 years, the first 11 years of which he spent in solitary confinement.
When he was released in April 2004, the Israeli authorities considered placing him under administrative detention, but the option was rejected as illegal by Israel’s Attorney General.
Instead, he has been subject to police supervision since his release under the terms of a draconian military order which is renewed every six months, most recently in April 2010. According to the order, Vanunu is banned from communicating with foreigners, including journalists; he cannot leave the country; he is forbidden from visiting foreign embassies; and must inform the authorities if he wishes to change addresses.
“The ongoing restrictions placed on Mordechai Vanunu have meant that he has been unable to move to the USA to live with his adopted family, placing a huge strain on his mental and physical health,” said Philip Luther.
“They.are not parole restrictions since he served his full 18-year term. They arbitrarily limit his rights to freedom of movement, expression and association are therefore in breach of international law.”
Vanunu was convicted on 30 April 2007 of contact with a foreign national without authorization and sentenced to six months, reduced on appeal to three.
He was given the option of doing community service in West Jerusalem instead of serving the three months in jail. He declined, citing fears for his safety as many Israelis consider him a national traitor, and instead offered to carry out the service in Palestinian East Jerusalem, where he now lives. The court refused and ordered him to be returned to jail by 23 May.
Speaking to Amnesty International, Vanunu expressed a sense of hopelessness, saying despite international efforts when he was in prison and subsequently to lift the restrictions imposed on him by the Israeli authorities “no one has been able to help for 24 years”.
Public Document
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For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
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quinta-feira, 13 de maio de 2010
terça-feira, 3 de julho de 2007
Israel: Mordechai Vanunu sentence clear violation of human rights
Amnesty International today condemned the decision of an Israeli court to sentence Mordechai Vanunu, the anti-nuclear whistle-blower, to a further six months in prison for violating a ban on speaking to foreigners.
The organization considers Mordechai Vanunu to be a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
"Israel is bound by international law not to impose arbitrary restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu, including on his right to travel within the country or abroad, his right to peaceful association with others and his right to express his opinions," Amnesty International said today.
Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Israel has ratified and is obliged to uphold, stipulates that:
"everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence" and that "everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own".
Background:
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court sentenced Mordechai Vanunu on 2 July 2007 to six months in jail for violating the terms of his parole.
The conditions of Vanunu's parole were issued on his release after serving 18 years in prison for exposing secrets relating to Israel's nuclear capabilities to the British Sunday Times newspaper in 1986. He is former technician at Israel's nuclear plant near the southern town of Dimona. Upon his release in 2004, Vanunu was banned from leaving the country and talking to foreigners without approval, because Israeli authorities claimed he could still divulge classified information. Some two months ago, Vanunu was convicted of 14 parole violations including contact with journalists and attempts to leave Israel proper to go to Bethlehem, which is in the West Bank. The court's sentence was unexpected, and even the prosecution expected the court to hand down a suspended sentence, meant solely as a deterrent.
Amnesty International has up until this date been lobbying for the lifting of restrictions imposed on Vanunu.
"Israel is bound by international law not to impose arbitrary restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu, including on his right to travel within the country or abroad, his right to peaceful association with others and his right to express his opinions" - Amnesty International press release of 19 April 2004 (AI Index: MDE 15/041/2004).
The organization considers Mordechai Vanunu to be a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
"Israel is bound by international law not to impose arbitrary restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu, including on his right to travel within the country or abroad, his right to peaceful association with others and his right to express his opinions," Amnesty International said today.
Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Israel has ratified and is obliged to uphold, stipulates that:
"everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence" and that "everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own".
Background:
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court sentenced Mordechai Vanunu on 2 July 2007 to six months in jail for violating the terms of his parole.
The conditions of Vanunu's parole were issued on his release after serving 18 years in prison for exposing secrets relating to Israel's nuclear capabilities to the British Sunday Times newspaper in 1986. He is former technician at Israel's nuclear plant near the southern town of Dimona. Upon his release in 2004, Vanunu was banned from leaving the country and talking to foreigners without approval, because Israeli authorities claimed he could still divulge classified information. Some two months ago, Vanunu was convicted of 14 parole violations including contact with journalists and attempts to leave Israel proper to go to Bethlehem, which is in the West Bank. The court's sentence was unexpected, and even the prosecution expected the court to hand down a suspended sentence, meant solely as a deterrent.
Amnesty International has up until this date been lobbying for the lifting of restrictions imposed on Vanunu.
"Israel is bound by international law not to impose arbitrary restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu, including on his right to travel within the country or abroad, his right to peaceful association with others and his right to express his opinions" - Amnesty International press release of 19 April 2004 (AI Index: MDE 15/041/2004).
terça-feira, 20 de abril de 2004
Amnesty International urges the Israeli authorities not to impose any restrictions or conditions on former nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu upon his release on Wednesday after 18 years in jail
PRESS RELEASE: AI Index: MDE 15/041/2004 (Public)
Embargo Date: 19 April 2004 00:01 GMT
"Mordechai Vanunu should be allowed to exercise his rights to freedom of movement, association and expression in Israel and should be allowed to leave the country if he wishes," said Amnesty International. "His release is long overdue and Israel must not continue to violate his fundamental human rights once he is released from prison."
Vanunu, who worked as a technician at Israel's Dimona nuclear facility from 1976 to 1985, was sent to jail 18 years ago for exposing secrets relating to Israel's nuclear capabilities. In an interview with the UK-based Sunday Times in 1986, Vanunu revealed evidence that Israel possessed and produced nuclear weapons. Israel, which to date has refused to sign the nuclear non proliferation treaty, has never confirmed or denied the information.
Vanunu maintained that he acted out of conscience to expose Israel's policy of building nuclear weapons with no debate or authorization from its own citizens.
On 30 September 1986, Vanunu was kidnapped in Rome by agents of Mossad, Israel's secret services. He was drugged and secretly shipped to Israel. After a secret trial, he was sentenced to 18 years on charges of treason and espionage. His repeated requests for early parole were consistently rejected by the Israeli authorities. On 21 April he will have served his 18-year prison sentence in full.
In recent months Israeli officials have publicly supported and called for Vanunu to be detained beyond expiry of his sentence, or for his freedom to be restricted upon his release. Available information indicates that the Israeli authorities intend to impose heavy restrictions on Vanunu's freedom upon his release, including banning him from leaving the country, confining him to assigned residence, and denying him the right to be in contact with journalists and foreigners.
"Israel is bound by international law not to impose arbitrary restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu, including on his right to travel within the country or abroad, his right to peaceful association with others and his right to express his opinions," said Amnesty International.
Vanunu has expressed the desire to travel to the United States upon his release to be with his adoptive parents and to recover from the physical and psychological strain of 18 years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement.
Israeli officials contend that restricting Vanunu's freedom upon his release is necessary to prevent him from divulging further secrets about Israel's nuclear arsenal.
"Israel's determination to curtail Vanunu's freedom and contact with the outside world seem to be intended to prevent him from revealing details of his abduction by Israeli secret service agents 18 years ago in Rome in what was clearly an unlawful act," said Amnesty International.
Vanunu has repeatedly stated that he revealed all the information he had in 1986 and that he has no further information.
"Vanunu must not be subject to arbitrary restrictions and violations of his fundamental rights on the basis of pretexts or suspicions about that he may in the future," said Amnesty International.
Background
Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) [http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/display.php?doc_id=453], which Israel has ratified and is obliged to uphold, stipulates that: "everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence" and that "everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own".
The rights to freedom of expression and association are guaranteed by Articles 19 and 21 of the same Covenant.
In http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde150412004
Embargo Date: 19 April 2004 00:01 GMT
"Mordechai Vanunu should be allowed to exercise his rights to freedom of movement, association and expression in Israel and should be allowed to leave the country if he wishes," said Amnesty International. "His release is long overdue and Israel must not continue to violate his fundamental human rights once he is released from prison."
Vanunu, who worked as a technician at Israel's Dimona nuclear facility from 1976 to 1985, was sent to jail 18 years ago for exposing secrets relating to Israel's nuclear capabilities. In an interview with the UK-based Sunday Times in 1986, Vanunu revealed evidence that Israel possessed and produced nuclear weapons. Israel, which to date has refused to sign the nuclear non proliferation treaty, has never confirmed or denied the information.
Vanunu maintained that he acted out of conscience to expose Israel's policy of building nuclear weapons with no debate or authorization from its own citizens.
On 30 September 1986, Vanunu was kidnapped in Rome by agents of Mossad, Israel's secret services. He was drugged and secretly shipped to Israel. After a secret trial, he was sentenced to 18 years on charges of treason and espionage. His repeated requests for early parole were consistently rejected by the Israeli authorities. On 21 April he will have served his 18-year prison sentence in full.
In recent months Israeli officials have publicly supported and called for Vanunu to be detained beyond expiry of his sentence, or for his freedom to be restricted upon his release. Available information indicates that the Israeli authorities intend to impose heavy restrictions on Vanunu's freedom upon his release, including banning him from leaving the country, confining him to assigned residence, and denying him the right to be in contact with journalists and foreigners.
"Israel is bound by international law not to impose arbitrary restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu, including on his right to travel within the country or abroad, his right to peaceful association with others and his right to express his opinions," said Amnesty International.
Vanunu has expressed the desire to travel to the United States upon his release to be with his adoptive parents and to recover from the physical and psychological strain of 18 years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement.
Israeli officials contend that restricting Vanunu's freedom upon his release is necessary to prevent him from divulging further secrets about Israel's nuclear arsenal.
"Israel's determination to curtail Vanunu's freedom and contact with the outside world seem to be intended to prevent him from revealing details of his abduction by Israeli secret service agents 18 years ago in Rome in what was clearly an unlawful act," said Amnesty International.
Vanunu has repeatedly stated that he revealed all the information he had in 1986 and that he has no further information.
"Vanunu must not be subject to arbitrary restrictions and violations of his fundamental rights on the basis of pretexts or suspicions about that he may in the future," said Amnesty International.
Background
Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) [http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/display.php?doc_id=453], which Israel has ratified and is obliged to uphold, stipulates that: "everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence" and that "everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own".
The rights to freedom of expression and association are guaranteed by Articles 19 and 21 of the same Covenant.
In http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde150412004
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