Vanunu in court, Times journalist arrested in Israel

by publo Thu May 27, 2004 22:16

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

Press release after being let go by Israeli State

by Felice - Free Mordechai Vanunu Mon May 31, 2004 22:02 AZ,USA

BISHOP RIAH, PROVIDER OF SANCTUARY AT ST. GEORGES, DETAINED AND SEARCHED AT TEL AVIV AIRPORT Ha'aretz, May 30, 2004

Shin Bet security service interrogators conducted a body and property search of the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, the Right Reverend Riah Abu El-Assal, in connection with the controversies surrounding freed nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu.

The bishop said interrogators hinted that Vanunu should vacate the St. George Church in Jerusalem, where he has stayed since his release from prison on April 18. "Although they did not act in a vulgar manner, and offered me coffee, which I declined, it was humiliating," the bishop told Haaretz on Saturday night. He said he has written a report on the incident and will protest to President Moshe Katsav.

The interrogators wanted to know if Bishop El-Assal was involved in the interview initiated by British journalist Peter Hounam and facilitated by Israeli journalist and translator Yael Lotan. The bishop said he was questioned at noon on Friday when he returned from a trip to Jordan. "First, they searched my body," he said, "then they photographed me and I was taken to a side room, where I was questioned." The questioning lasted about an hour and a half - he told Haaretz it was the first time he has been interrogated since he was appointed in 1996.

Bishop El-Assal gave the following account of some of the questioning:

Q. We know that Vanunu is with you.
A. "True, since April 21 he has received sanctuary in the church. I believe that Vanunu has the right to be free, and I have a duty toward him, like to other members of the community."

Q. What did you do in Jordan?
A. "I took part in the Hashemite Kingdom's Independence Day celebrations, and I dedicated a church school."

Q. Have you heard of Peter Hounam? Do you meet with journalists?
A. "Yes. Often."

Q. Have you met recently [with Hounam]? A. "No."

Q. What about the recording [of the interview given by Vanunu]?
A. "I don't know anything about it. I was in Jordan..."

The Bishop told Haaretz that after he returned from Jordan, there was an envelope on his desk addressed to "Alexander." He told his secretary to wait for this person to come and pick up the envelope, which apparently contained the tape of the interview. "I receive hundreds of letters and envelopes from visitors to the church, and it isn't my business to check their contents, if they are not addressed to me. I don't check them."
The "Alexander" in question came a few days later, and picked up the envelope, the bishop said.

Asked if Vanunu's presence in the church has caused it any problems, El-Assal replied: "He doesn't cause any difficulty. You [Israelis] are turning him into a hero."

On Wednesday, the Shin Bet arrested Hounam on suspicion that he was involved in interviewing Vanunu, in contravention of the limitations placed on the former nuclear technician upon his release from jail. Hounam, who left the country Friday, said that Israel should be ashamed for arresting him.

OTHER PRESS REPORTS Foreign Ministry furious at BBC over Vanunu interview By Anat Balint, Haaretz Correspondent The arrest of British journalist Peter Hounam, and the apparent smuggling of the Mordechai Vanunu interview to London, have sparked more tensions between Israel and the BBC. Foreign Ministry officials charge that the BBC is a "communications organization whose goal is to undermine the legitimacy of the state of Israel. It promotes hostile coverage of Israel... and the Vanunu affair proves that the BBC is a communications entity which shows complete disregard for journalistic standards and ethics. Their journalistic culture can be compared to that of media outlets in Arab states, or in the Palestinian Authority."

One Foreign Ministry source said the ministry will now reevaluate Israel's relations with the BBC. For five months, leading up to November 2003, Israel boycotted the BBC. The Foreign Ministry is furious about what it regards as the BBC's shirking of responsibility for an interview with former nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu, who was convicted of treason and recently released from prison.

An exclusive interview with Vanunu is to be broadcast by the BBC this evening (and there was a report about the interview this morning in The Sunday Times). "The BBC baldly lied to us after Vanunu's release," says the ministry official. "It lied when it denied having any connection with the apartment which was about to be rented for him in Jaffa. [Journalist Peter] Hounam worked for the BBC, and they are simply lying on this matter."

The same ministry official charged that the BBC failed to submit the recorded interview to Israeli censors, even though it is obliged to do so under Israeli law. The BBC's official statement about this charge is that the film of Vanunu was produced by an independent outfit, Magnetic North, for the BBC.

Gideon Meir, who heads the Foreign Ministry's public relations (hasbara) efforts, commented on Saturday: "Whoever reads Lord Hutton's report [the British report that charged the BBC with broadcasting biased information prior to the war in Iraq] and inserts the name 'Israel' instead of 'Iraq' will find that the things written in the report equally apply."

Speaking on the condition of not being named, BBC representatives unleashed a series of counter-charges. "It's not true that we lied," they say. "Hounam has never worked for the BBC. He works for the Sunday Times and for a private company that sold us the film, and what he does as an independent journalist is of no concern to us."

Andrew Steele, head of the BBC's bureau in Israel, said: "The state of Israel demonstrated a lack of judgment when it arrested a journalist [Hounam]...I am stunned by the way Israeli security forces acted in this affair." Israeli Foreign Ministry officials are also angry about Hounam's detention for one day last week, which was carried out without notification given to Israel's diplomatic corps. Yet the ministry appears to be more incensed by the BBC's behavior, and its unhappiness stems from a long, complex history with the BBC

3. Write to Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai would love to hear from his friends and supporters. You can write to him at: Mordechai Vanunu c/o Cathedral Church of St. George 20 Nablus Road PO Box 19018 Jerusalem 91190 Israel The U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu would appreciate any news clippings about the release for our files. Please send to the campaign at PO Box 43384, Tucson, AZ 85733 US. Also, if anyone taped any of the TV or radio coverage, we would appreciate a copy. Thanks!

If you would like to receive these alerts directly, please subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to [email protected] - END - Felice Cohen-Joppa Coordinator U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu POB 43384 Tucson, AZ 85733 Phone/Fax 520-323-8697 [email protected] www.nonviolence.org/vanunu

by Lessons Mon May 31, 2004 22:07

http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu/20040429yael.html