GREEN PARTY Euro-MP Jean Lambert has welcomed today's release from prison of Israel's nuclear whistle blower - Mordechai Vanunu - after 18 years in prison, much of this spent in solitary confinement.
Mrs Lambert, London's Green Party MEP and a member of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee, said:
"I welcome the long overdue release of a courageous and resilient man who has borne a long and inhumane period of solitary confinement with integrity."
Mrs Lambert condemned Israel's restrictions to Mr Vanunu's freedom which mean he cannot have a passport, leave Israel or give media interviews, adding:
"Israel must uphold its obligations under international and domestic law and respect Mordechai Vanunu's human rights to free movement and expression. "Nuclear weapons represent a crime against humanity - they threaten our security and the long-term future of our planet. When I visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I heard from survivors of their terrifying and ho rrific experiences in 1945. That only confirmed my conviction that Vanunu's action in telling the world about Israel's nuclear capability was right and in the interest of humanity.
"In a world in which the risk is growing from nuclear proliferation including the development of small-scale nuclear weapons, and from terrorism - we need more campaigners for peace and against such terrible weapons."
ENDS
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