Israel sends Vanunu back to jail

A decision by the Israeli Supreme Court to send Mordechai Vanunu, the nuclear whistleblower, back to jail for three months has reignited calls for him to be freed from restrictions that have dogged his life for the past six years. Amnesty International has pledged to make him a prisoner of conscience and his lawyers are considering taking action outside Israel. Vanunu was released in 2004 after serving an 18-year sentence for treason and espionage after he revealed the secrets of the Dimona atomic weapons plant to The Sunday Times. The Israeli government immediately imposed severe restrictions that prohibited him from leaving the country, going near foreign embassies and even talking to foreigners. In 2007 he was arrested and accused of giving interviews to foreign media, including the BBC and The Sunday Times. After a long court battle he was found guilty. His lawyers managed to have his sentence reduced to community service. But there was no community service scheme in Arab east Jerusalem, the only part of Israel where he feels safe.