Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Medal for Israeli nuclear whistleblower

A human rights organization has planned to present a peace prize to the whistleblower of Israel's secret nuclear program.

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said it would give the award to former Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on Sunday.

Vanunu will receive the 2010 Carl von Ossietzky medal. German journalist Ossietzky won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935 for speaking out against the Nazi Party.

Vanunu learned about Israeli's secret production of plutonium for nuclear weapons while working at the Dimona nuclear power plant from 1976 to 1985 as a technician.

In 1986, he disclosed details of the nuclear program during an interview with the Sunday Times.

Vanunu said Israel was fast developing nuclear weapons after he showed 60 photographs of Israeli plutonium spheres used for triggers in nuclear warheads.

Vanunu's data showed that Israel possessed over 200 bombs with boosted devices, neutron bombs, F-16 deliverable warheads, and Jericho warheads.

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize a number of times in the past, Vanunu was abducted by Israeli agents after the 1986 interview and spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 years in solitary confinement.