Even though three years have passed since he completed his 18-year prison sentence, Mordechai Vanunu continues to face harassment by the Israeli authorities. Vananu has been arrested or appeared in court on several occasions for violating restrictions placed on him since his release.
Not only is he prevented from leaving the Israeli state, restrictions placed on him include having to inform the authorities of his whereabouts and he is not allowed to speak to or indeed making any form of contact with anyone who is not an Israeli citizen.
An indication of the level of harassment Vanunu has faced was his arrest at Christmas 2004. His crime in the eyes of the Israeli state? As a Jewish convert to Christianity Vanunu was merely attempting to travel to the West Bank to attend a Christmas mass at the Church of the Nativity.
Despite the continued harassment, Vanunu has not yet been sent back to prison. Things may now be coming to a head. On April 30, an Israeli court convicted Vanunu on 14 counts of violating a court order preventing him from speaking to foreign journalists. Sentencing was deferred until May 18 but there is a strong possibility that when the court reconvenes he could receive a suspended or even a full prison sentence.
Modechai Vanunu remains defiant and unrepentant as demonstrated by his words in a media statement after the court hearing
"I win this case because I proved again that Israel is not a democratic country, it is a Jewish apartheid state. Only Jews have rights; non Jews have no rights, no freedom of movement, no freedom of speech."
For daring to tell the truth about the Israeli nuclear weapons programme, Moredchai Vanunu forfeited his privileged status as a Jewish citizen of Israel. The restrictions on his daily life he has suffered since leaving prison are substantively no different to those placed on Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza or even those living within Israel's pre 1967 borders.
For up to date information go to Mordechai Vanunu's website at www.vanunu.com