The nuclear technician who gave details of Israel's nuclear programme could end up back in jail after an Israeli court convicted him today of violating an order forbidding him contact with foreigners.
Mordechai Vanunu, a former technician at a nuclear plant near the southern town of Dimona, spent 18 years in prison for giving details of the country's atomic programme to the Sunday Timesof London in 1986.
Upon his release in 2004, Vanunu was banned from leaving the country or talking to foreigners because Israeli authorities claimed he could still divulge classified information.
A Jerusalem court convicted him of violating those restrictions by holding contacts with foreigners. Vanunu's attorney said the charges could mean six months in prison. Sentencing was expected within two months, he said.
Emerging from the courtroom, Vanunu said the verdict proved "that Israel is not a democracy," and pleaded to be allowed to leave the country. "I want to leave this country," he said. "I want to be free."
The details divulged by Vanunu and led experts to conclude that Israel has the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Israel has never acknowledged or denied having a nuclear weapons programme.