Vanunu (1986)

December 01, 1986

Today's Golden Oldie is from December 1986. Twenty Five years ago!!

In 1985, Mordechai Vanunu, a technician at Israel's top-secret facility at Dimona, brought his camera to work and took about 60 photos of the place. These photos were then published in a London Sunday Times' exposé about Israel's "nuclear weapons program".

In 1986 he was tried in a secret trial. The country was shocked! So was I! Most people were shocked about what he had done. I was shocked that nobody asked how he was able to saunter around taking snapshots of the place.

Vanunu was convicted and was released in 2004, after 18 years in prison.

* * * The Guardian is now beating the drums for the guy in a piece published just last month (November 2011):

Mordechai Vanunu deserves freedom from Israel

"Vanunu's attempts to leave Israel have been dragging on for more than seven years now. He was released from prison in 2004, after serving 18 years, and told that he must wait another six months before he could leave the country and must not talk to any foreigners in the meantime. Since then, a cruel game of cat and mouse has been going on, with Vanunu periodically arrested and detained for technical breaches of his conditions." -more