"Have you heard the news?" a smiling Mordechai Vanunu asked as he slid into his customary seat in the front row of tiny court room 216 in the Jerusalem Peace Court building. The third day of his trial for daring to speak to foreigners (especially to foreign journalists on the record) was about to begin.
"The good news is the judge rejected the evidence from the internet. He said it is illegal. From the Chat rooms. From all files they downloaded from the internet. Not acceptable."
"A very courageous and interesting decision," is the way one of Mordechai's attorneys, Michael Sfard, put it. "Judge Yoel Zur declared that all the documents found in Mordechai's computer were inadmissible due to flaws in the request for search orders by the Israeli police to the magistrate court."
Then during Sfard's cross examination of one of one of the government's chief investigator/interrogators the astonishing dimensions of one of those flaws was wrung out of a part frustrated part petulant witness.
"We wanted to ask a few question regarding the way Mordechai's privacy was infringed," Sfard continued. "We know that in August 2004 [Ed: which was three months before Vanunu was arrested and his computer seized] the Israeli police asked for court orders compelling Microsoft Corporation to provide the Israeli police with several details of Mordechai's Hotmail account: his user ID and password. But during cross examination it was revealed that the request for the search order was issued as a result of the false allegation that Mordechai is suspected of espionage, when he is not.
"The only thing he is charged with is violating the order not to speak to foreigners. But because of the false spying allegation, the magistrate thought that this was a very sensitive case in which public interest is much more important than Mordechai's privacy. And so," Sfard continued, "the point of the cross examination was to reveal that it's one thing to have the evidence ruled as inadmissible; but if the police also lied to the Magistrate's court that is something else, which is also very important."
It seemed to me that the defense has come up with a slam dunk.
"Except for one thing," said Mordechai.
"One thing?!"
"Yes, I confess to the police that I am speaking to foreigners."
"You confessed?!! Why?!!! You could have refused to answer them couldn't you?"
"I did refuse them a few times, three or four times. But the taxi I hired to take me to the interrogation in Tel Aviv and then was waiting for me at the police station while I am questioned was costing me 200 NIS an hour. So when I refuse, I also tell the investigator that I don't want to pay so much money to the taxi.
"So then the investigator said, 'If you will not answer, I will play all the videos of you all day, and you will have to watch them. I will keep you here for many hours.' So to make the meeting shorter, I finally said, 'Don't show me the videos. It is me, but it is nothing new; it is published already.'"
"Does your admission worry you?"
"It can mean the case cannot be dismissed. And they could find me guilty. So that is a big obstacle. But how could I deny such acts? They have the voice and the videos proving that I said it."
But attorney Sfard didn't seem particularly worried. "The prosecution has a problem. The only thing they have are some of his confessions and that's it. But all the wrongdoings of the police will help us later on to fight the allegations."
"Because," added Mordechai, "they have to prove that there was damage. That's the big issue, not the orders."
"Hasn't this case moved into the realm of official persecution?"
"Well, that's a good question," Sfard said with a grin." We might use this word "persecution" in Hebrew in our summation."
Then Mordechai was asked, "Did you learn anything from that experience with the interrogator?"
"Yes," he replied. "Next time, I won't take a taxi."
Mordechai's lawyers are going to file a brief for dismissal of the charges. After that the prosecution will file its rebuttal. Sometime around the end of May or early June the judge is expected to rule whether or not the trial is over or whether the Vanunu team must mount a defense.
Later Mordechai was asked to reflect. "Isn't it true that, despite whether or not the judge rules against the prosecution, Israel, nevertheless, has been successful in marginalizing you?"
"Yes, they have marginalized me. Stopped me from leaving the country. And they have silenced me in the big media. No big media will interview me for my story because they don't want problems with Israel."
"Who? And why?"
"CNN wants to interview me; but they say they can't do it because they don't want problems with the Israeli censor. So they prefer not to come to me. BBC is doing the same thing. Sixty Minutes from the United States from the beginning wanted to do a program, but because of the censor situation they decide not to do it. Also big media from Germany, France, Italy, Japan: none of them wants problems with the Israelis."
"So who's paying attention to you? Just people like ex-CNN Jerry Levin with his Yahoo Group?"
"Yes, all I can talk to are the small media: small newspapers, small magazines. But then Israel is also prosecuting me for talking to these small medias who have no power. So from one side they take the power from me; and from the other they are also persecuting me."
"So the Israelis are winning?"
"The Israelis are winning, but with such a win, they will lose a lot."
"But they have succeeded in marginalizing you?"
"Yes, they have succeeded. And while Israel is succeeding to talk about Iran nuclear energy no one is mentioning Israel's nuclear weapons."
"So Israel has played it right?"
"No, because the media does know that Israel is persecuting me. And that's not good for the Israeli image of democracy. So the Israelis, maybe they win; but in the long term they are damaging themselves."
So what's next?"
"Even if they put me back in prison, I am not going to give up. I will continue to demand my freedom and my freedom of speech, and the right to leave. So that is the big obstacle for them. I will continue to fight for my freedom.
"Don't you get discouraged?"
"No. I don't get discouraged. I am meeting. I am talking to everyone. And the more Israel will try to continue against me, the more I will continue to meet and talk. Maybe sometime they will be convinced that it is better to let me go."