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Mordechai Vanunu

"Vanunu" redirects here. See also Yosef Vanunu.

Mordechai Vanunu
Mordechai Vanunu in 2009
Vanunu in 2009
Born (1954-10-14) 14 October 1954 (age 69)
Marrakesh, Morocco
NationalityIsraeli
Other namesJohn Crossman
Known forNuclear whistleblower
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2015)​
AwardsRight Livelihood Award

Mordechai Vanunu (Hebrew: מרדכי ואנונו; born 14 October 1954),[1] also known as John Crossman,[2][3] is an Israeli former nuclear technician and peace activist[4] who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986.[5] He was subsequently lured to Italy by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, where he was drugged and abducted.[5] He was secretly transported to Israel and ultimately convicted in a trial that was held behind closed doors.[5]

Vanunu spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 in solitary confinement, though no such restriction is mentioned in Israel's penal code, nor imposed by his verdict. Released from prison in 2004, he was further subjected to a broad array of restrictions on his speech and his movement, and arrested several times for violations of his parole terms, giving interviews to foreign journalists and attempting to leave Israel. He claims to have suffered from "cruel and barbaric treatment" at the hands of prison authorities, and suggests that these would have been different if he had not converted to Christianity.[6]

In 2007, Vanunu was sentenced to six months in prison for violating terms of his parole. The sentence was considered unusually severe even by the prosecution, who expected a suspended sentence. In May 2010, Vanunu was arrested again and sentenced to three months in jail on a charge that he had met foreigners, in violation of conditions of his 2004 release from jail. In response, Amnesty International issued a press release in July 2007, stating that "The organization considers Mordechai Vanunu to be a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional release."[7]

Vanunu has been characterized internationally as a whistleblower[8][9] and by Israel as a traitor.[10][11][12] American whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg has referred to him as "the preeminent hero of the nuclear era".[13] In 1987, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "his courage and self-sacrifice in revealing the extent of Israel's nuclear weapons program".[14]

  1. ^ Vanunu, Mordechai [@vanunumordechai] (22 February 2020). "I officially changed my age, from 1954 to 1952, according to a document received from Morocco, I was born in 1952, not 1954" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Vanunu: Take my Citizenship". Arutz Sheva. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Mordechai Vanunu". 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  4. ^ Harding, Luke; Campbell, Duncan (12 December 2006). "Calls for Olmert to resign after nuclear gaffe". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Myre, Greg (21 April 2004). "Israeli Who Revealed Nuclear Secrets Is Freed". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Israeli nuclear spy released". CNN. 21 April 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  7. ^ "Israel: Mordechai Vanunu sentence clear violation of human rights". Amnesty International. 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 10 July 2007.
  8. ^ "Correspondent: Israel's Secret Weapon (transcript)". BBC. 17 March 2003.
  9. ^ "Capturing nuclear whistle-blower was 'a lucky stroke', agents recall". Ha'aretz. 12 November 2006.
  10. ^ "The meaning of Vanunu". Jewish World Review. 26 April 2004. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2006.
  11. ^ "Vanunu: traitor or prisoner of conscience?". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 April 2004.
  12. ^ "Vanunu: Hero or traitor?". JWeekly. San Francisco. 23 April 2004. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012.
  13. ^ Ellsberg, Daniel (21 April 2004). "Nuclear Hero's 'Crime' Was Making Us Safer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  14. ^ Campbell, Duncan (16 April 2004). "The Guardian profile: Mordechai Vanunu". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

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