- Israel is looking for ways to gag a whistleblower who
is due to be released from prison in the new year, fearing that he may
have more nuclear secrets to disclose that will embarrass the government,
officials said yesterday.
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- Mordechai Vanunu, a former nuclear technician, was sentenced
to 18 years in prison for espionage after giving dozens of pictures and
a description of alleged weapons from Israel's top-secret Dimona nuclear
reactor to the Sunday Times in 1986.
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- Israel's official policy about nuclear weapons is ambiguous:
officials say only that Israel will not be the first to introduce them
into the Middle East. But, based on Mr Vanunu's pictures, experts concluded
Israel had the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
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- The CIA estimated more recently that Israel has between
200 and 400 nuclear weapons.
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- Since his arrest, Mr Vanunu has become the poster figure
for critics of Israel's nuclear programme. He was nominated for the 2003
Nobel peace prize and an American couple adopted him in the mistaken belief
that this would entitle him to US citizenship and hasten his release.
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- A television report said officials, concerned about what
else Mr Vanunu has to say, are considering options including barring him
from travelling overseas or speaking in public after he is released. While
the Shin Bet security service and Israel's justice ministry had no comment,
Israeli security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
report was true but would not elaborate.
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- Mr Vanunu's lawyer did not return calls.
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- Yossi Katz, then a member of the Israeli parliament,
visited Mr Vanunu in prison in 2000. He said Mr Vanunu indicated he had
more to say, but then contradicted himself.
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- Speaking after the visit, Mr Katz said Mr Vanunu appeared
to mix fact with fantasy. He said his impression was that Mr Vanunu was
"not a [mentally] healthy man".
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- Born into a Jewish family, Mr Vanunu converted to Christianity
while in Australia and became a pacifist.
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- He has indicated that he wants to leave Israel after
his release.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1114284,00.html
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