UK journalist arrested in Israel

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UK journalist arrested in Israel

Israeli police have arrested a British journalist who interviewed nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu in 1986.
The arrest of Peter Hounam, 60, has been confirmed by the Israeli prime minister's office, which oversees the country's security services.

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Gagging order

Under the terms of his release, Mr Vanunu was forbidden from giving interviews, meeting foreigners and discussing his work as a technician at Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona.

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Mr Hounam exposed Israel's atomic secrets in a Sunday Times article in 1986 which followed his interview with Mr Vanunu.

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Sunday Times foreign editor Sean Ryan said Mr Hounam had been in Israel to cover Mr Vanunu's release for the newspaper.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3752043.stm

British journalist held over Vanunu link
By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
27 May 2004


Peter Hounam, the Sunday Times journalist who broke the story of Mordechai Vanunu's revelations about Israel's nuclear weapons programme 18 years ago, was arrested by plain clothes agents in Tel Aviv last night.

Mr Hounam, who has been in Israel since Mr Vanunu's release last month after 18 years in prison for publishing state secrets, was seized on his way to a dinner with a longstanding Israeli supporter of the former nuclear technician.

Before being taken into custody, he was driven at high speed back to his hotel in Jerusalem where he broke away from his captors long enough to grab a fellow guest by the hair to attract her attention and urge her to "tell people, tell The Sunday Times that I am being arrested".

Mr Hounam's seizure came as he was travelling to meet Yael Lotan, an Israeli journalist and Vanunu campaigner who last Saturday conducted a two-hour interview with Mr Vanunu scheduled for publication in this weekend's Sunday Times. Mr Hounam was in detention last night, facing probable interrogation by Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence service.

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Ms Lotan said last night that she and not Mr Hounam had conducted the interview for The Sunday Times. The conditions attached to Mr Vanunu's release severely restrict his rights to make contact with foreigners. Ms Lotan said that while the interview included a personal narrative of his period in solitary confinement, it did not contain new material threatening Israel's security. "I don't think it endangers Israel at all," she added.

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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=525322

We all know they have nukes. Why don't they just admit it and get it over with?

:shrug:

I wonder what justification they'll cook up-- "he was caught with pen and paper!"

http://www.maarivenglish.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=7889

Decision not to ask court to remand Sunday Times journalist reached after consultation between AG Mazuz and ISA officials.

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"After a consultation between Attorney General Meni Mazuz and ISA (Israel’s Security Agency, formerly the GSS) officials on this afternoon (Thursday), a decision was reached not to ask the court to remand Sunday Times journalist Peter Hounam. Hounam will meet his attorney, Avigdor Feldman, at 6 pm tonight and will be released two hours later.

Earlier, Feldman issued an appeal to the Jerusalem District Court, against the ISA’s (Israel Security Agency, formerly the GSS) decision to prevent Hounam from meeting with an attorney.

Hounam, the journalist who first exposed the Vanunu nuclear expose in the British media 18 years ago, was detained Wednesday evening in Jerusalem and taken in for questioning, apparently on suspicion of committing security offences. The courts have issued a blanket gag order at the request of the ISA.

“Peter does not know that he has representation, he doesn’t know what his rights are”, said Michael Sparrad, Hounam’s lawyer, to Maariv Online. “The ISA are trying to prepare the way for abusing more rights, and this is an attempt to break him. The ISA are motivated solely by personal revenge against Peter, and nothing else”.

And indeed, this is nothing like freedom of the press or human rights.

Did somebody give Israel a "Get out of jail free" card whilst I was asleep? I mean, I realise that the US and the UK aren't exactly flavour of the month, but Israel just seems to do something wrong every single time it acts.

Odd.

P.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/432000.html

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"British journalist Peter Hounam said Thursday night Israel should be ashamed for arresting him, adding he had been held in a "dungeon with excrement on the walls."

Hounam was released from custody Thursday night after the Shin Bet security services detained him Wednesday over contacting nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu."


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"After his release, Hounam told reporters outside the Jerusalem lockup that Israel should be ashamed for arresting him, complaining of being kept overnight in solitary confinement in a "dungeon with excrement on the walls" and limited to "two hours of sleep."

Hounam said he was questioned for more than four hours by Israeli security, without being charged. He said he was detained on suspicion of espionage, but during the interrogation, the Shin Bet admitted it made a mistake in its investigation."