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'''Mordechai Vanunu''' ({{lang-he|מרדכי ואנונו}}; born 14 October 1954),<ref>{{cite Twitter|first=Mordechai|last=Vanunu|url=https://twitter.com/vanunumordechai/status/1231336978827882496|number=1231336978827882496|title=I officially changed my age, from 1954 to 1952, according to a document received from Morocco, I was born in 1952, not 1954|user=vanunumordechai|date=22 February 2020}}</ref> also known as '''John Crossman''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143995|title=Vanunu: Take my Citizenship|work=Arutz Sheva|date=8 May 2011 |access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle.asp?section=newsmakers&xfile=data/newsmakers/2004/April/newsmakers_April11.xml|title=Mordechai Vanunu|date=12 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512023849/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle.asp?section=newsmakers&xfile=data%2Fnewsmakers%2F2004%2FApril%2Fnewsmakers_April11.xml|archive-date=12 May 2013|access-date=20 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> is an Israeli former [[nuclear weapon|nuclear]] technician and peace activist<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/dec/12/germany.israel |title=Calls for Olmert to resign after nuclear gaffe |first1=Luke |last1=Harding |first2=Duncan |last2=Campbell |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=12 December 2006 |access-date=8 January 2016}}</ref> who, citing his opposition to [[weapons of mass destruction]], revealed details of [[Nuclear weapons and Israel|Israel's nuclear weapons program]] to the [[History of British newspapers|British press]] in 1986.<ref name=nyt2004>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/21/international/middleeast/21CND-NUCL.html?scp=1&sq=Vanunu%20drugged&st=cse|work=The New York Times|title=Israeli Who Revealed Nuclear Secrets Is Freed|first=Greg|last=Myre|date=21 April 2004|access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref> He was subsequently lured to Italy by the Israeli intelligence agency [[Mossad]], where he was drugged and [[Kidnapping|abducted]].<ref name=nyt2004/> He was secretly transported to Israel and ultimately convicted in a trial that was held behind closed doors.<ref name=nyt2004 />
Vanunu spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 in solitary confinement, though no such restriction is mentioned in Israel's penal code, nor imposed by his verdict. Released from prison in 2004, he was further subjected to a broad array of restrictions on his speech and his movement, and arrested several times for violations of his parole terms, giving interviews to foreign journalists and attempting to leave Israel. He claims to have suffered from "cruel and barbaric treatment" at the hands of prison authorities, and suggests that these would have been different if he had not converted to Christianity.<ref>{{cite news|title=Israeli nuclear spy released|url=https://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/21/israel.vanunu|work=CNN|date=21 April 2004|access-date=12 February 2009}}</ref>
In 2007, Vanunu was sentenced to six months in prison for violating terms of his parole. The sentence was considered unusually severe even by the prosecution, who expected a [[suspended sentence]]. In May 2010, Vanunu was arrested again and sentenced to three months in jail on a charge that he had met foreigners, in violation of conditions of his 2004 release from jail. In response, [[Amnesty International]] issued a press release in July 2007, stating that "The organization considers Mordechai Vanunu to be a [[prisoner of conscience]] and calls for his immediate and unconditional release."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE150442007|title=Israel: Mordechai Vanunu sentence clear violation of human rights|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|date=2 July 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710201838/http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE150442007|archive-date=10 July 2007}}</ref>
Vanunu has been characterized internationally as a [[whistleblower]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/programmes/correspondent/transcripts/17_03_2003.txt|title=Correspondent: Israel's Secret Weapon (transcript)|date=17 March 2003|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/capturing-nuclear-whistle-blower-was-a-lucky-stroke-agents-recall-1.120228|title=Capturing nuclear whistle-blower was 'a lucky stroke', agents recall|work=[[Ha'aretz]]|date=12 November 2006}}</ref> and by Israel as a traitor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0404/stephens_vanunu.php3|title=The meaning of Vanunu|work=Jewish World Review|date=26 April 2004|access-date=12 November 2006|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224155548/http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0404/stephens_vanunu.php3|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/21/1082530235940.html?from=storyrhs|title=Vanunu: traitor or prisoner of conscience?|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=22 April 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/22200/edition_id/448/format/html/displaystory.html|title=Vanunu: Hero or traitor?|work=JWeekly|location=San Francisco|date=23 April 2004|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208161538/http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/22425/vanunu-hero-or-traitor/|archive-date=8 December 2012}}</ref> American whistleblower [[Daniel Ellsberg]] has referred to him as "the preeminent hero of the nuclear era".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-apr-21-oe-ellsberg21-story.html|date=21 April 2004 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |title=Nuclear Hero's 'Crime' Was Making Us Safer |first=Daniel |last=Ellsberg|access-date=22 April 2020}}</ref> In 1987, he was awarded the [[Right Livelihood Award]] for "his courage and self-sacrifice in revealing the extent of Israel's nuclear weapons program".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Duncan |date=2004-04-16 |title=The Guardian profile: Mordechai Vanunu |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/apr/16/israel |access-date=2023-11-03 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
==Early and educational life==
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The Israeli government decided to capture Vanunu, but determined to avoid harming its good relationship with [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]], and not wanting to risk confrontation with British intelligence, decided Vanunu should be persuaded to leave British territory under his own volition. Israel's efforts to capture Vanunu were headed by [[Giora Tzahor]].<ref>Ronen, Gil [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157934#.UF3g5FHa98E Agent Who Nabbed Vanunu Killed in Accident] at [[Arutz Sheva]], 17 July 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.</ref>
Through constant surveillance and analysis by Mossad psychologists, the Mossad found that Vanunu had become lonely and eager for female companionship. Masquerading as an American tourist called "Cindy", Israeli Mossad agent [[Cheryl Bentov]] befriended Vanunu, and on 30 September persuaded him to fly to Rome with her on a holiday.<ref name=haretz>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=%20417663&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y |title=Capturing nuclear whistle-blower was 'a lucky stroke,' agents recall|author=Yossi Melman |publisher=Haaretz |date=21 April 2004|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221125605/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=%20417663&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y|archive-date=21 February 2009 }}</ref> This relation has been perceived as a classic [[Clandestine HUMINT asset recruiting#Love, honeypots, and recruitment|honey trap]] operation whereby an intelligence agent employs seduction to gain the target's trust—a practice which has been officially sanctioned in Israel.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Kalman, Matthew|title=Mossad's Seductive 'Honey Trap' Is Kosher, Rabbi Finds|url=http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/04/mossads-seductive-honey-trap-is-kosher-rabbi-finds|work=[[AOL News]]|date=4 October 2010|access-date=30 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113135152/http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/04/mossads-seductive-honey-trap-is-kosher-rabbi-finds/|archive-date=13 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author= Beam, Christopher |title= The Spy Who Said She Loved Me. Are "honey traps" real?|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2277407|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=9 December 2010|access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Sex Condoned for Female Mossad Agents|url=http://www.darkgovernment.com/news/sex-condoned-for-female-mossad-agents|work=Darkgovernment.com|agency=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=13 October 2010|access-date=30 December 2010}}</ref> Meanwhile, the Israeli Navy ship INS ''Noga'' was ordered to sail for Italy.<ref>Hounam, p. 78</ref>
The ''Noga'', disguised as a merchant ship, was fitted with electronic surveillance equipment and satellite communications gear in its [[superstructure]], and was primarily used to intercept communications traffic in Arab ports. As the ship was heading from [[Antalya]] in Turkey back to Haifa, the captain was instructed by encrypted message to change course for Italy and anchor off the coast of [[La Spezia]], out of the port in international waters.
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==Trial and imprisonment==
{{BLP sources section|date=March 2017}}
On 6 January 1987, he began a [[hunger strike]] over his prison conditions. During a visit with his brother Asher and in a letter to his brother Meir, he complained, among other things, of being held in [[solitary confinement]] 23 hours a day. When Judy Zimmet traveled to Israel and asked to visit him in prison, prison authorities said they could only meet in the presence of prison officials and with them separated by a glass barrier. Vanunu rejected these conditions, demanding that he be allowed to meet her face to face.<ref>{{
On 30 August 1987, Vanunu's trial opened. He was charged with treason, aggravated espionage, and collection of secret information with intent to impair state security. The trial, held in secret, took place in the Jerusalem District Court before Chief Justice Eliyahu Noam and Judges Zvi Tal and Shalom Brenner. Vanunu was initially represented by Amnon Zichroni, then by [[Avigdor Feldman]], a prominent Israeli civil and human rights lawyer. The prosecutor was Uzi Hasson.<ref>{{
The [[Capital punishment in Israel|death penalty in Israel]] is restricted to special circumstances, and only two executions have ever taken place there. In 2004, former Mossad director [[Shabtai Shavit]] told [[Reuters]] that the option of [[extrajudicial execution]] was considered in 1986, but rejected because "Jews don't do that to other Jews."<ref>{{
During his trial, Vanunu was brought to court wearing a motorcycle helmet to conceal his face. On 1 September 1987, while being brought into court, Vanunu tried to take off his helmet and started shouting in an apparent attempt to talk to the reporters nearby. His guards stopped him using physical force, and police sirens were turned on to drown out his voice.<ref>{{
Peter Hounam and Frank Barnaby both testified as defense witnesses for Vanunu. Before appearing in court, Hounam was warned that he would be arrested if he reported on the proceedings or his own testimony. He was allowed to report that he "gave evidence" regarding his "relationship" with Vanunu.<ref name=":0">
Vanunu served his
While in prison, Vanunu took part in small acts of defiance, such as refusing psychiatric treatment, refusing to initiate conversations with the guards, reading only English-language newspapers rather than Hebrew ones, refusing to work, refusing to eat lunch when it was served, and watching only [[BBC|BBC television]]. "He is the most stubborn, principled and tough person I have ever met", said his lawyer, Avigdor Feldman. In 1998, Vanunu appealed to the Supreme Court for his Israeli citizenship to be revoked. The Interior Minister denied Vanunu's request on grounds that he did not have another citizenship. He was denied parole because he refused to promise that he would never speak of the Dimona facility or his kidnapping and imprisonment.<ref>{{
▲Vanunu served his sentence at [[Shikma Prison]] in [[Ashkelon]],<ref name="guardian.co.uk"/> where he was held in administratively imposed solitary confinement. On 3 May 1989, he appealed his conviction and sentence to the Israeli Supreme Court and was brought from prison in a closed police vehicle to the Supreme Court for an appeal hearing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1989/05/04/archive/vanunu-appeal-opens-in-israel-as-italians-rally-behind-him|title=Vanunu Appeal Opens in Israel As Italians Rally Behind Him|publisher=JTA.org|date=4 May 1989}}</ref> In 1990, his appeal was rejected.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1990/05/29/archive/high-court-rejects-vanunus-appeal-will-decide-on-publishing-decision|title=High Court Rejects Vanunu's Appeal, Will Decide on Publishing Decision|date=29 May 1990}}</ref> The following year, an appeal to the Supreme Court arguing for better prison conditions was rejected.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1991/11/05/archive/vanunu-loses-bid-for-better-conditions|title=Vanunu Loses Bid for Better Conditions|date=5 November 1991}}</ref> On 12 March 1998, after having spent over eleven years in solitary confinement, Vanunu was released into the general prison population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/65034.stm|title=BBC News - WORLD - Israel ends 12-year solitary|website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
Many critics argue that Vanunu
▲While in prison, Vanunu took part in small acts of defiance, such as refusing psychiatric treatment, refusing to initiate conversations with the guards, reading only English-language newspapers rather than Hebrew ones, refusing to work, refusing to eat lunch when it was served, and watching only [[BBC|BBC television]]. "He is the most stubborn, principled and tough person I have ever met", said his lawyer, Avigdor Feldman. In 1998, Vanunu appealed to the Supreme Court for his Israeli citizenship to be revoked. The Interior Minister denied Vanunu's request on grounds that he did not have another citizenship. He was denied parole because he refused to promise that he would never speak of the Dimona facility or his kidnapping and imprisonment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=229406|title=Vanunu to High Court: I no longer want Israeli citizenship|work=JPost.com|date=22 March 2012 |access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/jun/05/familyandrelationships.israelandthepalestinians|title = Real lives: Our son, the rebel| website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date = 5 June 2002}}</ref>
▲Many critics argue that Vanunu had no additional information that would pose a real security threat to Israel and that the government's only motivation is to avoid political embarrassment and financial complications for itself and allies such as the United States. By not acknowledging possession of nuclear weapons, Israel avoids a US legal prohibition on funding countries that proliferate [[weapons of mass destruction]]. Such an admission would prevent Israel from receiving over $2 billion each year in military and other aid from [[Federal government of the United States|Washington]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/frontpage/story/0,,1970963,00.html|title=Calls for Olmert to resign after nuclear gaffe|date=13 December 2006|work=The Guardian|location=London, UK|first=Luke|last=Harding|access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref> [[Ray Kidder]], then a senior American nuclear scientist at [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]], has said:{{blockquote|On the basis of this research and my own professional experience, I am ready to challenge any official assertion that Mr. Vanunu possesses any technical nuclear information not already made public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/archive2/jan26.html|title=U.S. Expert: It's Safe to Release Vanunu|publisher=Nonviolence.org (from [[Ha'aretz]])|date=26 January 2000}}</ref>}}
==Release, liberties restrictions and asylum applications==
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