Nobel Peace Prize Nominee's Freedom of Speech Trial

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For OpEdNews: Eileen Fleming - Writer

Annually, for the last twenty years Mordechai Vanunu has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

This year, Vanunu has been nominated by Bishop Desmond Tutu, who received the Nobel Prize in 1984, for his courageous and fearless opposition against the South African apartheid system.

At the Russian Compound in Tel Aviv on February 2, 2007, Vanunu's freedom of speech trial which began on January 25, 2006 was concluded. The court brought 21 charges against him for giving interviews to foreign media in 2004: but the media has been missing in action during this historic trial.

The only journalist present was also the final witness.

Peter Hounam, the London Sunday Times journalist who in 1986 broke the story of Israel's WMD Program utilizing the 60 odd photos Vanunu easily obtained due to the lax security system in the Dimona testified in Vanunu's behalf and was only allowed five minutes to speak with him.

Although Vanunu was only a low tech worker in Israel's WMD facility, he easily obtained the keys to the restricted areas after they had been carelessly left in the shower room. Vanunu was able to shoot two rolls of film in the underground WMD facility without detection.

Although released after 18 years in jail on April 21, 2004, Vanunu has lived under the draconian 1945 British Mandate State of Emergency Regulations, which forbids him from leaving Israel and speaking to media and foreigners.

Vanunu informed this foreigner and reporter in March 2006 that "This administration tells me I am not allowed to speak to foreigners, the Media, and the world. But I do because that is how I prove my true humanity to the world."

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." -Article 19, UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

"On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations." - The Declaration of the establishment of Israel, May 14, 1948

The court brought 21 charges of giving interviews to foreign media against Vanunu. The first and most serious of the charges alleged that Peter Hounam, who himself was arrested in April 2004 and "charged with conducting the first interview upon Vanunu's release by the Israeli secret service, locked in a cell and accused of spying for nuclear secrets.

"Hounam was freed after a diplomatic and legal battle but was declared persona non grata. Hounam, was the last witness called in Vanunu's trial on Friday [February 2, 2007] accused the Israeli police of making mistakes both in arresting him in 2004 and in alleging that he had conducted the Vanunu interview.

"I was only doing my job in arranging the interview with Mordechai," Hounam said after the hearing. "What the police and secret police failed to understand is that to comply with the inhumane restrictions on him, I arranged for the Israeli journalist Mrs Yael Lotan to ask all the questions."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2583162,00.html

The restrictions against Vanunu are eerily similar to the "banning" that was practiced in South Africa under Apartheid, which also controlled human interaction, place of residence, and type and content of communications.

"The charges against Vanunu are a red flag to the world media. A man is actually being charged for the "crime" of speaking to reporters."-Attorney Fredrik Heffermehl, March 18, 2004
http://www.exodusnews.com/worldnews/world082.htm

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Eileen Fleming, Founder of www.wearewideawake.org/ A Feature Correspondent for Arabisto.com Author of "Keep Hope Alive" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory" Producer "30 Minutes with Vanunu" and "13 Minutes (more...)

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