21 April 2004

by Anai Rhoads

AnaiRhoads.org - After 18 years in prison, whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu was lead through a crowd of supporters and hecklers as he was being released from an Israeli prison Wednesday.

Vanunu, a former nuclear technician, was arrested and charged with treason and espionage shortly after a 1986 interview with the British press regarding Israel's stockpile of atomic weapons. Israel quickly scrambled to silence Vanunu, putting him under close surveillance and even banned him from international travel for 12 months.

The self-proclaimed Jewish state had managed to collect an arsenal of 100 to 200 nuclear warheads, allowing Israel to lead in stock of weapons of mass destruction world-wide. Vanunu leaked images from within the Dimona nuclear reactor as proof of his discovery.

Much of Vanunu's time in prison was restricted to solitary confinement. The now 49 year-old Christian convert told reporters of his ordeal, calling it "barbaric" but said he was proud of exposing the classified information. Justice Minister Yosef Lapid denies that Vanunu was treated poorly, but instead, "treated as any traitor would be treated."

Avoiding at all costs to reply in Hebrew, Vanunu stood before a sea of reporters who awaited his release saying, "Israel doesn't need nuclear arms, especially now that all the Middle East is free of nuclear arms," he said. "Open the Dimona reactor for inspections."

Unfortunately, Israel has yet to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which allows Dimona to remain closed for international inspection.

Vanunu has been nominated countless times by activists world-wide for the Nobel Peace Prize for his bravery.

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