Israel uses "evidence behind closed doors" to keep Vanunu In

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Thursday September 07, 2006 13:34 by Justin Morahan - Peace People

For Vanunu's persecution "Time is undefined"

Yesterday, in Jerusalem the appeal of Mordechai Vanunu against the restrictions imposed on him by the State of Israel came before the Supreme Court. After his release from 18 years of imprisonment in April 2004, Vanunu was not truly free..The restrictions imposed by the State, among other things, denied him the right to freedom of speech and freedom of movement. These restrictions are in breach of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Yesterday, 6 September, was another day for Mordechai's appeal in court.

(This Report is based on accounts of friends of Mordechai who were in the court)

Mordechai's Attorney, Avigdor Feldman, argued that in all of the interviews given by Mordechai since his release in April 2004, there were no new secrets revealed and nothing he had said endangered the security of the State of Israel.

Mr Feldman said that the Supreme Court last year had ruled that the criteria of "no breach of the restrictions" and "the passage of time" constituted the basis on which the Court would decide the continuation or the ending of the restrictions.

Now, Feldman said, Mordechai had not breached the restrictions over the past eight months, it was two and a half years since his release, and he argued that the court should consider the ending of the restrictions forthwith. 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 court with four or five secret expert witnesses, all men, from the Secret Services and the secret "Israeli Nuclear Committee". They wished to give the three judges their testimony behind closed doors, without Mordechai and his lawyers present, as they had done in previous hearings in the Supreme Court.

Their aim would be to convince the court that Vanunu still has more information to reveal and that he is a serious danger to the security of the State.

The President of the Supreme Court, Dorit Beinish, 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, "Vanunu is still a danger to the State Security, he has more unpublished information and he wants to make it public", he said.

He added that it is not true that Vanunu did not breach the restrictions in the past eight months and said that he has material on that - but he wants it to be heard behind closed doors. Mr Feldman argued that it can be heard behind closed doors only if the State has the proper orders to 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.

A witness to the court proceedings writes: "One thing was clear from both the State attorney and from the Judges' statements in the court, that "with or without Vanunu breaching the restrictions, eight months or a year (since the previous decision of the court) is not enough time to end the restrictions".

The President of the court said that "the court in its decision left the term "time" undefined" and asked the State what their position is concerning how long more the restrictions could continue. But there was no clear answer and it is understood that nothing positive will come out from the state or from the court in the near future"

The date for the next hearing has not been fixed - the rumour is that it will be in about 40 days time.