**Mordechai Vanunu** (Ibrani: מרדכי ואנונוcode: he is deprecated ), dilahirkan di Marrakesh, Maghribi pada 13 Oktober 1954 merupakan bekas juruteknik nuklear yang mendedahkan secara terperinci program senjata nuklear Israel kepada sidang British pada 1986. Dia telah berikutnya diculik oleh ejen Israel dan diseludup ke Israel, di mana dia telah teruji dan disabitkan atas pengkhianatan. 

Mordechai Vanunu menghabiskan 18 tahun dalam penjara, termasuk lebih dari 11 tahun di pengurungan sendirian. Vanunu telah dibebaskan dari penjara pada 2004, disubjekkan kepada berbagai barisan batasan pada pengucapan dan pergerakan beliau. Sejak kemudian dia telah secara ringkas ditangkap beberapa kali kerana melanggar pembatasan ini, termasuk memberi beberapa temubual kepada wartawan luar dan mencuba meninggalkan Israel.

Pada 2007 Vanunu telah dijatuhkan hukuman enam bulan di penjara kerana melanggar tempoh parol beliau. Hukuman ini telah dianggap luarbiasa walaupun oleh pendakwa yang menjangkakan hukuman yang digantungkan. Sebagai tindak balas, Amnesty International menerbitkan sidang pembebasan pada 2 Julai, 2007, menyatakan bahawa "Organisasi ini menganggap Modechai Vanunu menjadi banduan hati nurani dan mengarahkan untuk pembebasan beliau secara segera dan tidak bersyarat." Vanunu telah dihuraikan oleh kebanyakan sebagai peniup wisel tetapi oleh yang lain, terutamanya orang Israel, sebagai pengkhianat.

Kehidupan awal dan pendidikan
-----------------------------

Vanunu dilahirkan di Marrakesh, Maghribi kepada keluarga Yahudi; ayah beliau merupakan rabai. Pada 1963, pada usia sembilan, beliau emigrat dibawah Hukum Mengembali dengan ibubapa beliau dan 4 pertama dari 11 abang dan kakak ke Israel. Pada 1973, beliau mendaftar untuk program matematik dan fizik di Universiti Tel Aviv. Bagaimanapun memanjangkan tugas simpanan pada Perang Yom Kippur 1973 dan kekurangan dana menjadikan beliau untuk memutuskan pelajaran beliau. Vanunu melengkapkan tiga tahun beliau dalam khidmat tentera sebagai sapper dalam IDF Kor Kombat Kejuruteraan, dengan rank sarjan Pertama. Selepas melengkapkan khidmat beliau dan memulakan pekerjaan di Pusat Penyelidikan Nuklear Negev. Vanunu menjadi pelajar sambilan geografi dan falsafah di Universiti Ben-Gurion dari Negev, di mana beliau menjadi kritikal dari kebanyakan polisi kerajaan Israel, membentuk sebuah kumpulan yang dipanggil "*Kampus*" dengan empat pelajar Yahudi lain dan lima pelajar Arab. Vanunu juga digolong dengan sebuah kumpulan yang dipanggil "*Gerakan untuk Kemaraan Keamanan*."

Vanunu menerima siswazah dari Universiti Beersheba pada 1985 dengan BA dalam Falsafah dan Geografi.

Pusat Penyelidikan Nuklear Negev
--------------------------------

Fail:Vanunu-glove-box-bomb-components.jpgGambar Vanunu dari kotak sarung tanganPusat Penyelidikan Nuklear Negev yang mengandungi bahan nuklear pada model pemasangan bom, salah satu dari sekitar 60 gambar yang beliau kemudian berikan kepada sidang British.
Antara 1976 dan 1985, Vanunu telah digajikan sebagai juruteknik loji nuklear dan pengurus sambilan di Pusat Penyelidikan Nuklear Negev, sebuah fasiliti Israel yang digunakan untuk membangunkan dan mengeluarkan senjata nuklear, terletak di Gurun Negev selatan Dimona. Kebanyakan agensi risikan sedunia menganggarkan bahawa Israel membangunkan senjata nuklear seawal 1960an, tetapi negara tersebut telah dengan sengaja mengekalkan "Polisi kesengajaan kekaburan", tidak berpengetahuan mahupun menafikan ia memiliki senjata tersebut. Ia semasa penggajian beliau bahawa terdapat salah satu dari kumpulan sayap-kiri iaitu keahlian Vanunu yang diadakan memprotes terhadap reaktor nuklear Iraq Osiraq, iaitu telah dipercayai menjadi sebahagian dari program pembangunan senjata nuklear Iraq. Jerusalem Post menyatakan bahawa Vanunu mengambil aktif sebahagian dari protes ini, didebatkan bahawa ini menunjukkan bahawa beliau dimotivasikan oleh perasaan benci kepada Israel pada perbuatan kemudian beliau.

Ia dipercayai bahawa di Dimona, Vanunu menjadi bertambah bermasalah mengenai program senjata nuklear Israel yang meluas dipecayai iaitu yang beliau bekerja. Apabila beliau telah diletak keluar dari Dimona pada 1985, Vanunu meninggalkan Israel. beliau tiba di nepal dan dianggap sebagai pemelukan ke agama Buddha, kemudian mengembara ke Burma dan Thailand. Pada 1986, beliau mengembara ke Sydney, Australia. Sementara di sana, Vanunu tinggal dalam hostel di Kings Cross dan bekerja dengan kerja aneh, pertama sebagai pembasuh pinggan mangkuk hotel dan kemudian sebagai pemandu teksi.

Vanunu mula menghadiri gereja tempatan, St. John's, Darlinghurst. Sana beliau berjumpa dengan Reverend John McKnight, yang bekerja dengan tanpa huni dan penagih dadah. Vanunu memeluk Kristian dan telah dibaptiskan sebagai John Crossman ke dalam Anglican Church of Australia, mejadikan beliau lebih renggang dari keluarga beliau.

Pendedahan, penculikan, dan penerbitan
--------------------------------------

Fail:Vanuunu-Article.jpgPada 5 Oktober, 1986, akhbar British *The Sunday Times* menjalankan kisah pada laman depannya di bawah tajuk berita: "Revealed: the secrets of Israel's nuclear arsenal."
Sementara di Sydney, beliau berjumpa Peter Hounam, seorang wartawan dari *The Sunday Times* di London. Pada awal September 1986, Vanunu terbang ke London dengan Hounam, dan dalam pencabulan dari persetujuan tak-terdedah beliau, mendedahkan kepada *The Sunday Times* pengetahuan beliau dari program nuklear Israel, termasuk gambar yang beliau secara rahsia ambil pada tapak Dimona.

*The Sunday Times* amat bimbang untuk diperdayakan selepas sebelumnya dimalukan oleh tipu daya Diari Hitler. Abikatnya, akhbar tersebut mahu mengesahkan kisah Vanunu dengan pakar senjata nuklear terkemuka, termasuk bekas pereka senjata nuklear A.S. Theodore Taylor dan bekas pereka British Frank Barnaby, yang bersetuju bahawa kisah Vanunu adalah benar. Vanunu memberikan huraian terperinci dari pengasingan lithium-6 yang diperlukan untuk pengeluaran dari tritium, ramuan asas dari bom pemecahan pelakuran-ditujah. Manakala kedua-dua pakar menyimpulkan bahasa Israel mungkin membuat bom tujahan peringkat-tunggal seumpama, Vanunu, iaitu pengalaman kerja beliau terhad kepada penghasilan bahan (bukan komponen), memberi tiada bukti spesifik bahawa Israel telah membuat bom termonuklear dua-peringkat, seperti bom neutron. Vanunu menghuraikan pemproses plutonium digunakan, memberikan kadar penghasilan sekitar 30 kg per tahun, dan menyatakan bahawa Israel gunakan sekitar 4 kg per senjata.
Dari maklumat ini ia mungkin jadi untuk menganggarkan bahawa Israel mempunyai plutonium mencukupi untuk sekitar 150 senjata nuklear.

Vanunu menyatakan dalam surat beliau bahawa beliau berhasrat untuk berkongsi wang dari akhbar untuk maklumat dengan Gereja Anglikan Australia. Jelas kecewa dengan tundaan manakala Hounam telah menyiapkan penyelidikan beliau, Vanunu mendekati akhbar pesaing, tabloid *Sunday Mirror*, iaitu pemiliknya ialah Robert Maxwell. Pada 1991, seorang pegawai Mossad yang dihurai-sendiri yang dipanggil Ari Ben-Menashe mengesyaki bahawa Maxwell telah condong keluar Mossad tersebut, mungkin jadi melalui risikan rahsia British, mengenai Vanunu.. Ia juga kemungkinan besar bahawa mereka telah dikejutkan oleh penyiasatan yang dibuat kepada Kedutaan Israel di London oleh wartawan *Sunday Mirror*.

Kerajaan Israel berhasrat menahan Vanunu, tetapi berazam bahawa untuk mengelak dari membahayakan hubungan baiknya dengan Perdana Menteri Margaret Thatcher, Vanunu patut dipujuk untuk meninggalkan wilayah UK dibawah kesukarelaan beliau sendiri. Bersandiwara sebagai pelancong Amerika yang dipanggil "Cindy", ejen Mossad Israel Cheryl Bentov berbaik dengan Vanunu, dan pada 30 September memujuk beliau untuk terbang ke Rom dengan Cindy pada satu percutian. Sebaik sahaja di Rom, ejen Rom menangkap beliau, mendadahkan beliau dan menyeludup beliau ke Israel pada kapal pengangkut barang, bermula dengan apa yang menjadi lebi dari sedekad dari pengurungan sendirian dalam penjara Israel.

Pada 5 Oktober, *Sunday Times* menerbitkan maklumat yang beliau dedahkan, dan menganggarkan bahasa Israel telah menghasilkan lebih dari 100 warhead nuklear.

Pemenjaraan
-----------

Fail:764px-Vanunu-Hand big.jpgVanunu revealed details of his detention by writing on his hand: "Vanunu M was hijacked in Rome. ITL. 30.9.86, 21:00. Came to Rome by fly BA504."
Vanunu was put on trial in Israel on charges of treason and espionage. The trial, held in secret, took place in the District Court in Jerusalem before Chief Justice Eliahu Noam and judges Zvi Tal and Shalom Brener. He was not permitted contact with the media but he wrote the details of his capture (or "hijacking" as he put it) on the palm of his hand, and while being transported he held his hand against the van's window so that waiting journalists could get the information 

On February 27 1988, the court sentenced him to 18 years' imprisonment from the date of his capture. The Israeli government refused to release the transcript of the court case until, after the threat of legal action, it agreed to let censored extracts be published in *Yedioth Ahronoth*, an Israeli newspaper, in late 1999.

The death penalty in Israel is restricted to special circumstances. 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."

The Israeli government kept him in near total isolation for more than 11 years, allegedly out of concern that he might reveal more Israeli nuclear secrets and because he was still bound by the contract that swore him to secrecy on the subject. While in prison, he refused psychiatric treatment. 

Many critics argue that Vanunu had no additional information that would pose a real security threat to Israel, and that the Israeli government's real motivation is a desire 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 which proliferate weapons of mass destruction. Such an admission would prevent Israel from receiving, as it does now, more than $2 billion each year in military and other aid from Washington.

Ray Kidder, then a senior American nuclear scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has said:

> 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.

His last appeal against his conviction, to the Supreme Court of Israel in 1990, failed.

While in prison, Vanunu says, he took part in small acts of rebellion, such as refusing to talk with the guards, reading only English-language newspapers, and watching only BBC television. "He is the most stubborn, principled, and tough person I have ever met," said his lawyer, Avigdor Feldman.

Release and Asylum Applications
-------------------------------

In 2004, shortly before his scheduled release, Vanunu remained defiant under interrogation by the security service, 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."

Vanunu was released from prison on April 21 2004. He indicated a desire to completely dissociate himself from Israel, initially refusing to speak in Hebrew, and planning to move to Europe or the US as soon as the Israeli government would permit him to do so.

A number of restrictions were placed upon Vanunu by Israeli authorities, who stated their reason was fear of him spreading further state secrets and that he is still bound by his non-disclosure agreement. These stipulate that he must inform the authorities of his place of residence and his movements between cities, and may not leave the country. These restrictions were extended to April 2006, and then April 2007, due to his violations of court rulings. While a court found in 2005 that he should be free to go to the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the 2006 restrictions explicitly forbade him to visit either, reversing the court's initial decision.
In addition, Vanunu is not allowed to meet with foreigners or contact them by phone or e-mail, enter or approach any embassy, visit any port of entry, or come within 500 metres of any international border crossing.

Vanunu says that his knowledge is now outdated and he has nothing more he could possibly reveal that is not already widely known. Despite the stated restrictions, since his release Vanunu has freely given interviews to the foreign press, including a live phone interview to BBC Radio Scotland. 

On April 22 2004, Vanunu asked the Norwegian government for a Norwegian passport and asylum in Norway for "humanitarian reasons," according to Norwegian news agencies. He also sent applications to other countries, and stated that he would accept asylum in any country because he fears for his life. Former conservative Norwegian Prime Minister Kåre Willoch asked the conservative government to give Vanunu asylum, and the University of Tromsø offered him a job. On April 9, 2008, it was revealed that Vanunu's request for asylum in Norway was rejected in 2004 by Erna Solberg, Minister of Local Government in the coalition government lead by then Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. 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 tradition 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.

Vanunu's application for asylum in Sweden has also been 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.

In 2006, Microsoft was accused  of helping Israeli police to obtain documents incriminating Vanunu.

On February 22, 2006 in a Jerusalem court it was revealed that Israeli police had led Microsoft to hand over all the details of Vanunu's Hotmail email account by alluding that he was being investigated for espionage. This happened before a court order had been obtained

Vanunu wrote: 

> Microsoft obeyed the orders and gave them all the details...three months before I was arrested and my computers were confiscated...it is strange to ask Microsoft to give this information before obtaining the court order to listen to my private conversations. It means they wanted to go through my emails in secret, or maybe, with the help of the secret services, the Shaback, Mossad

.

International calls for his freedom of movement and freedom of speech made by organizations supporting Vanunu have been either ignored or rejected by Israel.

On May 15, 2008, the Norwegian Lawyer's Petition for Vanunu was released. It calls on the Norwegian government to urgently implement a three-point action plan within the framework of international and Norwegian law and allow Vanunu to travel to, live and work in Norway.

Arrests and hearings
--------------------

Templat:Proseline
Since his release, Vanunu has appeared in Israeli courts on numerous occasions on charges of having violated the terms of his release. He was arrested and detained for attempting to go to Bethlehem, on at least one occasion his room in St. George's Cathedral was raided by policemen and his belongings were confiscated. [*perlu rujukan*]

### 2004

* On November 11 2004, Vanunu was arrested by the International Investigations Unit of the Israeli police at around 9am while eating breakfast. The arrest stemmed from an ongoing probe examining suspicions of leaking national secrets and violating legal rulings since his release from prison. Police officers wearing bulletproof vests and carrying machine guns entered into the walled compound of St. George's Anglican Church in East Jerusalem, where Vanunu had been renting a room since his release. Police removed papers and a computer from his room. After a few hours' detention, Vanunu was put under house arrest, which was to last seven days.
* On December 24, 2004, in a vehicle marked as belonging to the foreign press, Vanunu was apprehended by Israeli Police while he was attempting to enter the West Bank in violation of his release restrictions (see above), allegedly to attend mass at the Church of the Nativity. After posting bail of 50,000 NIS, he was released into five-day house arrest.

### 2005

* On January 26 2005, BBC reported that its Jerusalem deputy bureau chief, Simon Wilson, was banned from Israel after BBC refused to submit interview material made with Vanunu to Israeli censors. Vanunu gave the interview in violation of court orders. Wilson was allowed to return to Israel on March 12 after signing an apology letter acknowledging that he defied the law.

* On March 17 2005 Vanunu was charged with 21 counts of "contravening a lawful direction" (maximum penalty two years' imprisonment per count) and one count of "attempting to contravene a lawful direction."

* On November 18 2005 Vanunu was arrested at the al-Ram checkpoint north of Jerusalem as he was returning by bus from the West Bank. The Israeli authorities say Vanunu's travel ban includes visits to the Palestinian territories.

### 2007

* On April 13 2007, Vanunu was informed that the Israeli government has continued his house arrest in Jerusalem and has renewed all the restrictions against him, for the fourth time and third year of detention in east Jerusalem.

* On April 30 2007, Vanunu was convicted of violating the order barring foreign contacts and traveling outside Jerusalem. He was sentenced to six months of jail on July 2. Following his sentence, Vanunu commented that his conviction proved that Israel was still ruled, in effect, by the British Mandate, because the law under which he was convicted is from that era. "Maybe I need to turn to the queen or to Tony Blair in order to grant me justice," he said.

* In July 2007, Vanunu was sentenced to a further six months imprisonment for speaking to foreigners and traveling to Bethlehem. The court's sentence was unexpected, and even the prosecution expected the court to hand down a suspended sentence, meant solely as a deterrent.

* While having dinner at the American Colony in East Jerusalem with a foreigner, Vanunu was arrested for the second time on a Christmas Eve. Diarkibkan 2011-06-10 di Wayback Machine

### 2008

* On January 7 2008, the day before his appeal fighting the above sentence was to begin, Israel instead re-sentenced him to six months of community service.
* On February 19, 2008, Vanunu wrote: "The court hearing today Feb. 19, was again postponed, because of a small snow here. We are waiting for the next hearing date" which would be "soon."

Vanunu's appeal hearing was scheduled to resumed March 23, 2008, but on that date, he learned that it was rescheduled to May 13, 2008.

* On April 7, 2008 Vanunu learned that Israel has continued the restrictions against him for the fifth year. On April 9, 2008 it was reported that Norway has joined Sweden, Canada and Denmark in refusing asylum to Vanunu.

* On April 9, 2008, unclassified documents reveal that the former Norwegian coalition government led by former Prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik denied Vanunu asylum in 2004 as a supportive action to the Israeli government.

* On May 13, 2008 Vanunu wrote that although three judges attempted to convince the Government Lawyer to offer community service in East Jerusalem, it was denied. Vanunu's appeal fighting six months in jail resumes July 8, 2008

* On May 15, 2008 The Norwegian Lawyer's Petition called on the Norwegian government to urgently implement a three-point action plan within the framework of international and Norwegian law, to grant Vanunu asylum and permission to work and stay in Norway.

* On July 8, 2008, Judges announced that they would delay their decision until September. In July 2007, Israel convicted Vanunu on 14 counts from over a hundred interviews he gave foreign journalists in 2004. Vanunu has been prohibited from leaving the state and denied the right to speak with any foreigners since his 2004 release from 18 years in prison for exposing Israel's secret nuclear weapons program in 1986.

Support, awards, and honors
---------------------------

Amnesty International described his treatment as constituting "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment [...] such as is prohibited by international law."

Vanunu received the Right Livelihood Award in 1987, and was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Tromsø in 2001. He was nominated by Joseph Rotblat for the Nobel Peace Prize every year from 1988 to 2004. Former recipients are among the thousands of people and groups with rights to nominate Nobel candidates. The secretive Nobel committee never comments on specific nominations, but members often note that anyone can be nominated. In 2006 there were 191 nominations for the prize.

In 2005 he received the Peace Prize of the Norwegian People (*Folkets fredspris*). Previous recipients of this prize include Vytautas Landsbergis (1991), Alva Myrdal (1982), Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams. 

In September 2004, artist and musician Yoko Ono gave Mordechai Vanunu a peace prize founded in her late husband, John Lennon’s memory.

In December 2004, as a statement of solidarity, he was elected by the students of the University of Glasgow to serve for three years as Rector. On Friday April 22 2005 he was formally installed in the post, but cannot carry out any of its functions as he is still confined to Israel. Since then *The Herald* newspaper has launched a campaign for his release.

June 4, 2008: Vanunu seeks support in his Letter to Editors and the world: "I am asking the Media to report on my case and on the efforts of Norwegian Lawyers and citizens to grant me asylum...Israel was founded contingent on upholding the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I am asking the world to demand they honor it."

Bibliography
------------

* Black, Ian. *Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services*, Grove Press, 1992, ISBN 0-8021-3286-3
* Cohen, Avner. *Israel and the Bomb*, New York: Columbia University Press (1999), ISBN 0-231-10483-9
* Cohen, Yoel. *The Whistleblower of Dimona: Israel, Dimona & the Bomb.* ISBN 0-8419-1432-X
* Gaffney, Mark. *Dimona: The Third Temple? The Story Behind the Vanunu Revelation.* ISBN 0-915597-77-2
* Gilling, Tom and John McKnight. *Trial and Error — Mordechai Vanunu and Israel's Nuclear Bomb.* 1991 Monarch Publications. ISBN 1-85424-129-X
* Hounam, Peter. *The Woman from Mossad: The Torment of Mordechai Vanunu.* ISBN 1-58394-005-7 paperback edition title: *The Woman from Mossad: The Story of Mordechai Vanunu & the Israeli Nuclear Program*
* Toscano, Louis. *Triple Cross*. 1990 Birch Lane Press ISBN 1-55972-028-X
* Spiro, Gideon. *Vanunu and the Israeli Bomb.*