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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 having suffered "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]]. However, inIn 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 organisation 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 characterised 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><ref name="Ellsberg">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3758693.stm|title=Vanunu 'wanted to avert holocaust'|publisher=BBC|date=29 May 2004}}</ref> [[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".
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=== Political views and activities ===
His political views had begun to change and he became critical of many policies of the Israeli government. He opposed the [[1982 Lebanon War]], and when he was called up to serve in that war as a reserve soldier in the Engineering Corps, he refused to perform field tasks and instead did kitchen duty. He also campaigned for equal rights for [[Arab citizens of Israel|Arab Israelis]].<ref name="apprenticeship">{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/06/16/1023864379443.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=The apprenticeship of Mordechai Vanunu|date=17 June 2002}}</ref> In March 1984, he formed a left-wing group called "Campus" with five Arab and four Jewish students. He became acquainted with many Arab students, including pro-[[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]] activists. Vanunu was also affiliated with a group called "Movement for the Advancement of Peace". He developed a particular resentment for what he viewed as the dominance of Israeli society by [[Ashkenazi Jews]] or Jews of European origin, and discrimination against [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardi]] and [[Mizrahi Jews]] from the Middle East and North Africa. He felt that he was looked down on by those who ran the Dimona facility due to his Moroccan origin. According to Dr. Ze'ev Tzahor of Ben-Gurion University, "he projected a deep sense of deprivation. He assumed an Ashkenazi dominance in Israel that encompassed all social strata and an Ashkenazi consensus closing off all possibilities of advancement for Oriental Jews." According to ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', Vanunu's anti-Ashkenazi feelings morphed into anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli feelings, and he became the principal advocate for Arab students on campus, arguing their case with what other Jewish students saw as irrational intensity.<ref>Hounam, pp. 39-40</ref> He became known on campus as a radical. His activities drew increasing attention from his employer.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
 
In his security file at the Negev Nuclear Research Center, it was noted that he had displayed "left-wing and pro-Arab beliefs".<ref name="Gideon's Spies"/> In May 1984, he was questioned by the head of security at Dimona and a lawyer who was possibly from [[Shin Bet]], and was let off with a stern warning about divulging any unauthorizedunauthorised information.<ref>Hounam, pp. 36-37</ref>
 
In June 1984, he was again interrogated at the facility's security office. The next month, he left for France for two weeks with a student group to meet [[History of the Jews in France|French-Jewish]] students in [[Paris]] and when he returned, he was interrogated again. In 1985, Vanunu reportedly joined the [[Maki (political party)|Israeli Communist Party]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://people.com/archive/a-man-of-mystery-sells-a-chilling-story-and-then-vanishes-vol-26-no-20|title=A Man of Mystery Sells a Chilling Story and Then Vanishes|last=Gross|first=Ben|volume=26|issue=20|publisher=[[People (magazine)|People]]|date=17 November 1986|access-date=6 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://972mag.com/saying-goodbye-to-the-soviet-spy-who-was-an-israeli-patriot/114498|title=A Soviet spy and an Israeli patriot|last=Matar|first=Haggai|magazine=[[+972 Magazine]]|date=3 December 2015|access-date=6 February 2017}}</ref> Vanunu later claimed that he had developed a very close friendship with an Israeli Arab, and after a year, discovered that his friend was being paid to spy on him.<ref>Hounam, p. 47</ref>
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==Disclosure, abduction and publication==
{{BLP sources section|date=December 2017}}
After leaving his job, Vanunu started attending [[Israeli Communist Party]] meetings, but was unimpressed with the level of discussion and soon stopped going. He also tried modeling nude for art students but was not booked again for being too nervous and jumpy. In November 1985, he moved in with Judy Zimmet, an American woman who was working as a midwife at [[Soroka Medical Center]]. After accompanying Zimmet and her sister on a tour around Israel, he embarked on a backpacking trip throughout the [[Far East]], and planned to meet her in the United States afterwards, though he later became uncertain about continuing the relationship. On 19 January 1986, he left Israel for Greece via a boat from [[Haifa]] to [[Athens]]. After spending a few days in Athens, he flew to [[Thailand]] on an [[Aeroflot]] flight to [[Bangkok]]. He transited through [[Moscow]], spending a night at a transit hotel there. During his time in Thailand, he visited the [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]], where he tried [[opium]] and hash cocktails. He then flew to [[Myanmar]], where he met and befriended Fiona Gall, daughter of British journalist [[Sandy Gall]]. After touring [[Mandalay]] together, Vanunu flew on his own to [[Nepal]]{{Citation needed|reason=Clarify which source supports this initial part of his story|date=February 2021}}.
 
During his time in Nepal, Vanunu visited the Soviet embassy in [[Kathmandu]] to inquire about the travel documents he would need for a future trip to the [[Soviet Union]]. He then returned to Thailand, and from there went to Australia on a flight to [[Sydney]]. Vanunu decided to settle permanently in Sydney, and after ten days of sightseeing, he found a job as a dishwasher at the Menzies Hotel, and then at a Greek restaurant. Meanwhile, he studied for and eventually gained a taxi license. He also began attending a church, and in July 1986, converted to [[Christianity]], joining the [[Anglican Church of Australia]].<ref name="apprenticeship"/><ref name = diehl>Sarah J. Diehl and James Clay Moltz (2008). ''Nuclear Weapons and Nonproliferation: A Reference Handbook'' (ABC-CLIO; {{ISBN|978-1-59884-071-1}}), pg. 208.</ref><ref name="guardian.co.uk">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/apr/21/israel3 "Vanunu released after 18 years"], guardian.com, 21 April 2004; retrieved 28 July 2009.</ref> He moved into an apartment owned by the church and found work driving a taxi owned by a parishioner.
 
=== Meeting with journalists ===
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On 28 March 1988, Vanunu was convicted. He was sentenced to eighteen years of imprisonment from the date of his abduction in Rome.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-11-25-9911250182-story.html|title=PAPER PRINTS EXCERPTS FROM TRIAL OF ISRAELI SPY|first=Tribune News|last=Services|website=chicagotribune.com|date=25 November 1999 }}</ref> The Israeli government refused to release the transcript of the court case until, under a threat of legal action, it agreed to let censored extracts be published in ''[[Yedioth Ahronoth]]'', an Israeli newspaper, in late 1999.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
 
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 also 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> 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|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>}}
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{{update-section|date=August 2016}}
Vanunu was released from prison on 21 April 2004. Surrounded by dozens of journalists and flanked by two of his brothers, he held an impromptu press conference but refused to answer questions in Hebrew because of the suffering he said he sustained at the hands of the State of Israel.
Vanunu said Israel's Mossad spy agency and the [[Shin Bet]] security services tried to rob him of his [[sanity]] by keeping him in solitary confinement. "You didn't succeed to break me, you didn't succeed to make me crazy," he said. Vanunu also called for Israel's nuclear disarmament, and for its dismantlement as a Jewish state.
Around 200 supporters and a smaller number of counter-demonstrators attended the conference.<ref name="guardian.co.uk"/> He indicated a desire to completely dissociate himself from Israel, initially refusing to speak in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], and planning to move to Europe or the United States<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.serve.com/vanunu/20060113jakarta.html|title=Discussion with a Friend from JAKARTA (letter from Vanunu)|publisher=The Mordechai Vanunu Website|date=13 January 2006|access-date=12 April 2006|archive-date=26 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226114359/https://www.serve.com/vanunu/20060113jakarta.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> as soon as the Israeli government would permit him to do so.
 
Shortly before his scheduled release, Vanunu remained defiant under interrogation by Shin Bet. In recordings of the interview made public after his release, he is heard saying "I am neither a traitor nor a spy, I only wanted the world to know what was happening." He also said, "We don't need a [[Jewish state]]. There needs to be a Palestinian state. Jews can, and have lived anywhere, so a Jewish State is not necessary."<ref name=Vanunu_defiant>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3640989.stm|title=Vanunu defiant ahead of release|publisher=BBC|date=19 April 2004|access-date=3 October 2007}}</ref> "Vanunu is a difficult and complex person. He remains stubbornly, admirably uncompromisingly true to his principles, and is willing to pay the price," said ''Ha'aretz'' newspaper in 2008.<ref name="haaretz.com">Yossi Melman [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/975302.html Haaretz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915234452/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/975302.html |date=15 September 2009 }} "It is time to free Vanunu", haaretz.com, 16 April 2008.</ref>
 
Following his release, Vanunu moved to an apartment in [[Jaffa]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2905585,00.html|script-title=he:המרגל מרדכי ואנונו: "אני גאה ומאושר, אין יותר סודות"|publisher=www.ynet.co.il|trans-title=The spy Mordechai Vanunu: "I am proud and happy, there are no more secrets"|author=Hanan Greenberg|author2=Shmulik Hadad|newspaper=Ynet |date=21 April 2004|language=he}}</ref> After the address was published in the media, he decided to live in [[St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem|St. George's Cathedral]] in [[Jerusalem]]. He regularly receives visitors and sympathizerssympathisers and has repeatedly defied the conditions of his release by giving interviews to foreign journalists.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/04/07/1112815667418.html 'I am still here', Vanunu reminds Israel], theage.com.au, 7 April 2005.</ref>
 
A number of prohibitions were placed upon Vanunu after his release from jail and are still in force:
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While the Norwegian foreigner directorate (State Department) (UDI) had been prepared to grant Vanunu asylum, it was suddenly decided that the application could not be accepted because Vanunu had applied for it from outside of the borders of Norway. An unclassified document revealed that Solberg and the government considered that extracting Vanunu from Israel might be seen as an action against Israel and thereby unfitting the Norwegian government's traditional role as a friend of Israel and as a political player in the Middle East. Since the information has been revealed, Solberg has rejected criticism and defended her decision.<ref name="vg.no">{{cite web|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/norsk-politikk/artikkel.php?artid=531398|title=Erna Solberg hindret Vanunu i å få asyl - VG Nett|publisher=Vg.no|access-date=20 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/norsk-politikk/artikkel.php?artid=531398 |archive-date=30 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/midtosten/artikkel.php?artid=531446|title=Vanunu: - Håper Norge angrer asyl-avslaget - VG Nett|publisher=Vg.no|access-date=20 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/midtosten/artikkel.php?artid=531446|archive-date=30 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/midtosten/artikkel.php?artid=531497|title=Vanunu-venner i harnisk - VG Nett|publisher=Vg.no|access-date=20 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/midtosten/artikkel.php?artid=531497|archive-date=30 June 2009}}</ref>
 
Vanunu's application for asylum in Sweden was also rejected on the grounds that Sweden, like Norway, does not accept absentee asylum applications. He also unsuccessfully requested asylum in Ireland, which would require him to first be allowed to leave Israel. He has not applied for asylum in his native [[Morocco]].{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}
 
In 2006, [[Amnesty International]]'s British branch chief, [[Kate Allen (Amnesty International)|Kate Allen]], wrote that [[Microsoft]] handed over the details of Vanunu's [[Hotmail]] email account on the demand of Israeli authorities while that country investigated whether he was communicating with foreign journalists. The hand-over happened before a court order had been obtained.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/amnesty/story/0,,1784718,00.html|title=Today, our chance to fight a new hi-tech tyranny|date=28 May 2006|publisher=The Observer|location=London, UK|first=Kate|last=Allen|access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref>
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==Arrests and hearings==
Yossi Melman, an Israeli journalist, wrote in the Israeli newspaper ''[[Haaretz]]'' "Vanunu's harassment by the Israeli government is unprecedented and represents a distortion of every accepted legal norm."<ref name="haaretz.com"/> Vanunu was denied parole at a hearing in May 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/87850.stm|date=4 May 1998|title=Vanunu denied parole|publisher=BBC|access-date=5 October 2008}}</ref> Five years later, parole was again refused. At this parole hearing, Vanunu's lawyer Avigdor Feldman maintained that his client had no more secrets and should be freed. However, theThe prosecution argued that the imminent [[2003 invasion of Iraq|war with Iraq]] would preclude his release.
After the hearing, Feldman said, "The prosecutor said that if Vanunu were released, the Americans would probably leave Iraq and go after Israel and Israel's nuclear weapons - which I found extremely ridiculous." The real force blocking Vanunu's release, who had been known only as "Y", was exposed in 2001 as Yehiyel Horev, the head of [[Mossad]]'s nuclear and military secrets branch.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/correspondent/2841377.stm|date=16 March 2003|title=Israeli nuclear 'power' exposed|publisher=BBC|access-date=5 October 2008|first=Olenka|last=Frenkiel}}</ref>
 
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On 11 May 2010, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Vanunu would "serve a three-month jail sentence handed to him by Jerusalem District Court and not community service" which would begin 23 May 2010.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}
 
Vanunu had been sentenced to community service but stated his refusal to perform community service in west Jerusalem, claiming that he would be in danger of being assaulted by a member of the Israeli public;. however, heHe offered to instead do community service in east Jerusalem. The Court refused Vanunu's offer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/23/israeli-nuclear-whistleblower-prison-sentence|first=R.|last=McCarthy|title=Mordechai Vanunu jailed by Israeli court for unauthorised meetings|publisher=guardian.co.uk|quote=Mordechai Vanunu ... was sent back to prison today for a new three-month sentence.|date=23 May 2010|location=London, UK}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1723&Itemid=233|title=Eye Witness Reporting on Israel Palestine|publisher=We Are Wide Awake.org|access-date=20 November 2010}}</ref>
Eleven days earlier, [[Amnesty International]] had released a press release following the announcement of this sentence: "If Mordechai Vanunu is imprisoned again, Amnesty International will declare him to be a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and unconditional release."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/israeli-government-urged-not-jail-nuclear-whistleblower-again-2010-05-12|title=Israeli government urged not to jail nuclear whistleblower again|publisher=Amnesty International|date=12 May 2010}}</ref>
 
On 24 May 2010, Vanunu began serving his three-month prison sentence.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10145852.stm Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu jailed], BBC World News, 24 May 2010.</ref> On 18 June, it was reported that Vanunu had been placed in solitary confinement.<ref name=AImay2010>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/israeli-nuclear-whistleblower-returned-solitary-confinement-2010-06-18|title=Israeli nuclear whistleblower returned to solitary confinement|publisher=Amnesty.org|date=17 June 2010|access-date=20 November 2010}}</ref> Vanunu was released from prison on 8 August.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vanunu.com|title=Vanunu Mordechai J.C. - I Am Your Spy|publisher=Vanunu.com|access-date=20 November 2010}}</ref>
 
On 14 July 2011, Vanunu appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to instruct Interior Minister [[Eli Yishai]] to revoke his Israeli citizenship, claiming that "the Israeli street" and media were treating him belligerently, and that he could "no longer find his place in Israeli society", and that despite his release from prison, "the State of Israel continues to penalizepenalise him by imposing various restrictions on his person and travels".{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}
 
Vanunu's appeal noted an amendment to the Citizenship Act which allowed the Interior Minister to revoke his citizenship even if he did not hold another one, and claimed that revocation of his Israeli citizenship would allow him to seek citizenship or permanent residency in a European country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/Int/App/HPage/SorryPage/0,6173,L-,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204222858/https://www.ynetnews.com/Int/App/HPage/SorryPage/0,6173,L-,00.html|url-status=dead|title=Sorry Back to main page|date=25 October 2012|archive-date=4 December 2017|publisher=ynetnews.com}}</ref>
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In 2005 he received the Peace Prize of the Norwegian People (''Folkets fredspris'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peacepeople.com/2005/norwegian.html|title=Norwegian Peace Prize for Mordechai Vanunu|date=5 April 2005|publisher=The Peace People|access-date=26 February 2011|quote=Mordechai Vanunu has been awarded the Norwegian People's Peace Prize for 2005 for his treacherous action of betraying the people in Israel.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927055720/http://www.peacepeople.com/2005/norwegian.html|archive-date=27 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Previous recipients of this prize include [[Vytautas Landsbergis]] (1991), [[Alva Myrdal]] (1982), [[Mairead Maguire]] and [[Betty Williams (Nobel laureate)|Betty Williams]]. On 24 February 2010, Nobel Institute Director, Geir Lundestad, announced that for the second year in a row, Mordechai Vanunu had declined the honour of being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}
 
On 21 September 2010, the Teach Peace Foundation recognizedrecognised Mordechai Vanunu for his courageous actions to halt the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by the Israeli government.<ref>{{cite web|author=Teach Peace Foundation |url=http://www.teachpeace.com/awards10.htm |title=Mordechai Vanunu wins 2010 Teach Peace Foundation Award|publisher=Teach Peace|access-date=21 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716194849/http://www.teachpeace.com/awards10.htm|archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref>
 
On 4 October 2010, the [[International League for Human Rights]] announced that Vanunu was awarded the [[Carl von Ossietzky Medal]] for 2010<ref>{{cite web|author=Eileen Fleming |url=http://www.arabisto.com/article/Blogs/Eileen_Fleming/Mordechai_Vanunus_Press_Release/84207|title=Mordechai Vanunu and the 2010 Carl-von-Ossietzky-Medal|publisher=Arabisto|access-date=20 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707155316/http://www.arabisto.com/article/Blogs/Eileen_Fleming/Mordechai_Vanunus_Press_Release/84207|archive-date=7 July 2011}}</ref> and, on 16 November, sent [[open letter]]s to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister [[Ehud Barak]] and Interior Minister Eli Yishai, seeking Vanunu's free departure out of Israel to allow him to receive the medal at the Award Ceremony in Berlin on 12 December 2010.<ref>Melman, Yossi [http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/nobel-laureates-urge-israel-to-let-vanunu-receive-int-l-rights-award-1.325707 Nobel laureates urge Israel to let Vanunu receive int'l rights award] at Haaretz, 20 November 2010.</ref> Nobel laureates cited as co-signatories to the letter include [[Mairead Maguire]], [[Günter Grass]], [[Harold W. Kroto]] and [[Jack Steinberger]].
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