Nuclear whistleblower denied basic freedoms by Israel

11 Oct, 2010 16:31 / Updated 14 years ago

The whistleblower who revealed details of Israel's nuclear programme in the 1980s is at the centre of another court case. Lawyers for Mordechai Vanunu are demanding he be allowed to live outside of Israel.

Vanunu spent 18 years in jail, including 11 years in solitary confinement.

Even after his release in 2004, his lawyers say he was denied basic freedoms of speech and movement, and was repeatedly arrested for violating prohibitions. This happened despite the fact that the information Vanunu has is either outdated or already widely-known.

Chairman of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian & Israeli Studies, and former member of the Knesset, Issam Makhoul labels Israel’s will to persecute Vanunu even after serving his prison term as “a great absurd”.

“This is a policy, which aims to terrorize any Israeli who tries to question or criticize the Israeli nuclear policy. I am sure that Vanunu does not endanger the security of Israel, he endangers the policy of the Israeli establishment on the nuclear issue. That's why they are trying to push him into a corner once and again,” Makhoul told RT.