[E-rundbrief] Info 455 - Vanunus Menschenrechte in Israel verletzt

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 455 - Mairead Corrigan Maguire (Irland): Mordechai 
Vanunu's Appeal. - Next Year in Jerusalem - International Spotlight 
on new Israeli Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch.

Bad Ischl, 18.9.2006

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Next Year in Jerusalem

International Spotlight on new Israeli Supreme Court President Dorit 
Beinisch on Mordechai Vanunu's Appeal

By Mairead Corrigan Maguire

September 2006

On 7 September 2006, upon hearing of her unanimous appointment as the 
next Israeli Supreme Court President, Justice Dorit Beinisch said she 
would preserve "the Supreme Court's culture of values."  She went on 
to say, "As for the talk of eroding public confidence in the court 
system, everyone from all walks of life comes to Court to ask for its 
help."  She said the Supreme Court had no political agenda and 
protected basic values.   I found these interesting comments from 
Justice Beinisch, who just the day before sat in the Israeli Court 
(together with Justices Chesine and Brunis) hearing the third appeal 
of Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear whistleblower, against his 
restrictions.

In l986, Mordechai Vanunu, acting out of conscience, revealed to the 
world that Israel had a nuclear weapons program.   Sentenced to 18 
years in prison, the first 12 years in solitary confinement in a tiny 
cell, and eventually was released in April 2004, having completed the 
entire 18 years.  Upon his release, the Israeli Government imposed 
draconian restrictions on his freedom.  He is forbidden to speak to 
foreigners or foreign press or to leave Israel.  Each year for the 
past two years, on the 2lst of April, these restrictions have been 
renewed and Vanunu remains a virtual prisoner, living within a couple 
of square miles of East Jerusalem and under constant security 
surveillance everywhere he goes.

On this, my fourth visit to support Mordechai Vanunu (whom I have 
nominated many times for the Nobel Peace Prize), I attended the 
Israeli Supreme Court hearings on Vanunu's restrictions on 6 
September 2006.  Vanunu's defense lawyer, Avigdor Feldman, argued 
that in all the interviews Mordechai gave to the international media 
since his release in April 2004, there were no new secrets revealed 
and nothing he said was endangering the security of the State.  He 
said that the Supreme Court stated in its judgment last year, that 
"the no breaches of restrictions together with the 'passing of time' 
factor are the base in deciding the continuing or ending of the 
restrictions."  Now after two-and-a-half years and in light of the 
fact that Mordechai did not breach the restrictions for eight months, 
Feldman argued, the Court should consider the ending of the 
restrictions.  Mr. Feldman said that the ban on Mordechai to leave 
the country is a serious breach of his fundamental constitutional 
human rights.  The attorney for the State came to the Court with four 
or five men, secret expert witnesses from the Secret Services and 
from the secret Israeli Nuclear Committee, to give the three judges a 
testimony behind closed doors, without Mordechai and his lawyers 
present, as they have done in the previous discussions in the Supreme 
Court.  Their aim would be to convince the Court that Vanunu still 
has more information to reveal and he is a serious danger to the 
security of the State.

Justice Beinisch, said that there is no need to hear these secret 
testimonies as their position was well accepted by the previous bench 
of the Court, and "it is accepted on this bench too."  The attorney 
for the State disputed Feldman's statements, arguing that "Vanunu is 
still a danger to the State security; he has more unpublished 
information and he wanted to make it public."  He also said that it 
is not true that Vanunu did not breach the restrictions in the past 
eight months and that he has material on that, but he wants it to be 
heard in closed doors.  Mr. Feldman said only if the State has a 
proper order should it make it closed doors evidence.  In the end, 
the Court asked the State to obtain the certificate for secrecy and 
make a new date to continue the hearing of the appeal.

One thing was clear from both the State Attorney and from the Judge's 
statements in the Court, that with or without Vanunu breaching the 
restrictions, eight months or a year's time (since the previous 
decision of the Court) is not enough time to end restrictions.  The 
President of the Court said that "the Court in its decision left the 
term 'time' undefined" and asked the State what is their position to 
how much longer the restrictions could continue, but there was no 
clear answer from the State Prosecutor as to how long was long enough!

As I sat in the Israeli Court, I was surprised at one of the comments 
by President Beinisch to the effect that two years of restrictions do 
not seem too long!  I thought to myself that it is, two-and-a-half 
years of restrictions, plus 18 years in prison (12 in solitary) and 
every day that goes by now, Mordechai Vanunu is a virtual prisoner, 
whose life is constantly in danger, being re-punished again and again 
(itself an action forbidden by law).  How long is it going to be 
before it is finally long enough?  Vanunu has no secrets; Israel and 
the world know it.  His situation is now worse than a prison term, 
when at least he could look forward to getting out at a given 
time.  Now he knows the Israeli government, directed by the Security 
Services of Israel, can keep him in Israel forever if they like, and 
no one outside Israeli, or inside, apart from the Israeli Supreme 
Court, if they really are a Court of Justice, can do anything about 
it!  Vanunu has gone (yet again, as this is the third appeal!) to the 
Israeli Court to ask for its help, and the question is: Will they 
help give him justice NOW, and if not now, WHEN?  Or must he live out 
the rest of his life incarcerated within Israel, a victim of secret 
court hearings, and security bureaucrats, and a victim of an 
allegedly democratic country with a sham justice system, offering no 
hope to Vanunu or any of its citizens who come looking for justice 
from their Courts of Justice.

Both inside Israel and in the international community, many people 
wait and watch to see if President Beinisch and her two Justice 
colleagues will have the courage to uphold international law and 
basic common decency and justice and restore Mordechai Vanunu's right 
to his basic freedom of speech and movement.  The result of this 
appeal will indeed give us an indication of the future strength of 
Israeli justice for those who go to ask for its help.  We wait in 
hope that we may yet see JUSTICE IN JERUSALEM.

Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, is Hon. President of 
Peace People, Northern Ireland (www.peacepeople.com).

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
PMB 121, 1187 Coast Village Road, Suite 1
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
www.wagingpeace.org
www.nuclearfiles.org

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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
     Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
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