Mordechai Vanunu

(born October 13, 1954) is a former Israeli nuclear technician who exposed Israel's possession of nuclear weapons to the public in 1986. When Israel learned of this, he was abducted by Mossad (although upon release Vanunu claimed it was the cia) from Italy and tried in secret. Convicted of treason, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison, more than 11 years of which were served in solitary confinement. Vanunu was released from prison on April 21, 2004, and was subject to a broad array of speech and travel restrictions. On November 11, 2004, following multiple alleged violations of those restrictions, he was arrested again following an interview.

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.

Vanunu is seen by many human rights groups as a prisoner of conscience, and they often compare him to the German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky. Amnesty International described his treatment as constituting "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment [...] such as is prohibited by international law." The Israeli government still considers him a traitor.