Thursday, November 11, 2004
Mordechai Vanunu Arrested `
Almost 2 decades have passed since Mordechai Vanunu exposed Israel's nuclear arsenal. But today, St. George's Cathedral was stormed by about 30 heavily armored/armed tactical forces and he was removed via an unmarked car. Vanunu had been living there under house arrest, since his release from prison in April, having accepted sanctuary from The Right Reverend Riah Abu El-Assal, Epicscopal Bishop of Jerusalem.
If you are unfamiliar with Vanunu's case, take some time to acquaint yourself with the history. It is a perfect example of invoking government "secrecy" purely to quash political dissent and criticism. In 1985 Vanunu was was a nuclear technician at the Dimona nuclear plant in Israel. In 1986 he fractured Israel's deliberate facade of "nuclear ambiguity" by revealing that nation's underground plutonium separation plant and stockpile of several hundred nuclear warheads. He travelled to Asia (converted to Buddhism), Australia and then to England, where he delivered extensive first-hand accounts and photographs to Sunday Times that were verified by British experts.
But, before any publication was made, Israeli intelligence had already decided how to silence him:
If you are unfamiliar with Vanunu's case, take some time to acquaint yourself with the history. It is a perfect example of invoking government "secrecy" purely to quash political dissent and criticism. In 1985 Vanunu was was a nuclear technician at the Dimona nuclear plant in Israel. In 1986 he fractured Israel's deliberate facade of "nuclear ambiguity" by revealing that nation's underground plutonium separation plant and stockpile of several hundred nuclear warheads. He travelled to Asia (converted to Buddhism), Australia and then to England, where he delivered extensive first-hand accounts and photographs to Sunday Times that were verified by British experts.
But, before any publication was made, Israeli intelligence had already decided how to silence him:
On September 30, 1986, an American Mossad agent, Cheryl Bentov, operating under the name of "Cindy" and masquerading as an American tourist, began an affair with Vanunu, eventually persuading him to fly to Rome with her on a holiday. The Israeli government had promised Margaret Thatcher that they would not conduct operations on British soil. Therefore... Once in Rome, Mossad agents kidnapped and drugged him, and returned him to Israel on a freighter.
(source: Wikipedia)
He was held in secret, and his abduction was unackowledged. Later, his trial was held in secret. Needless to say, Vanunu was not allowed any contact with the outside world, journalists, family, etc. At times though, he even was physically gagged to prevent him from communicating. Press had noticed his movement in and out of the courthouse, without being able to verify his identity or hear his story. Then, Vanunu engineered a solution to the problem of being seen but not heard, as captured in this famous photograph:
But today, after 18 years of imprisonment, including 138 months of solitary confinement, while he still might embarass Israel's government by conspicuously opposing nuclear proliferation, it cannot sensibly be argued that he retains any heretofore undisclosed information that constitutes a national security threat. Compare the punishment for his telling the truth to the apparent unqualified right of the government to lie, and punish those who call them on it. Their methods: lies, seduction, drugging, abduction, and illegal extradition, with the end result that he be "held alone in a cell for 10 years which is cruel, inhuman and degrading"... according to AmnestyUSA back in 1996! And then he was held for nearly another decade subsequent that!
Extra links: a UK-based "Campaign to Free Vanunu" has a running index of relevant news stories; and lastly, you might check www.Vanunu.org.
Extra links: a UK-based "Campaign to Free Vanunu" has a running index of relevant news stories; and lastly, you might check www.Vanunu.org.
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