CND today condemned the decision of an Israeli court to sentence Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu to a further six months in prison for talking to foreign media. CND disputes prosecutor Dan Eldad’s claim that Vanunu’s imprisonment is necessary for national security. CND believes that the disarmament of Israel’s nuclear arsenal and compliance with UN resolutions calling for a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in the Middle East will significantly enhance the security of all states in the region.
Vanunu has already served 18 years in prison – including twelve in solitary confinement – for releasing details of Israel’s nuclear weapons programme at the Dimona plant to the British press in 1986.
Kate Hudson, Chair of CND, said, ‘The decision to imprison Mordechai once again shows Israel’s determination to maintain its illegal nuclear weapons arsenal and silence those calling for peace and disarmament. Their weapons of mass destruction have been tolerated for far too long. The UK government must challenge the Israeli government on its violation of Mordechai’s human rights and must seriously promote the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone it claims to support.’
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Notes to Editors:
For further information and interviews please contact Ben Soffa, CND’s Press & Communications Officer, on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859
Vanunu was released from prison in 2004 under strict conditions, including the denial of any permission to speak to foreigners. Other conditions include denying him a passport and forcing him to remain in Israel, refusing to allow him leave the city of Jerusalem without permission or to stay overnight at any address other than his own without permission.
Israel is thought to have between 100-400 nuclear weapons.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 35,000 members in the UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons everywhere.