The dismissal of Mordechai Vanunu’s lawyer may force a postponement of the trial of the former Dimona technician accused of selling classified information about Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons capabilities to a British newspaper.
The trial was scheduled to open in Jerusalem this week.Vanunu’s family fired defense counsel Amnon Zichroni Sunday in an apparent dispute over how the defense should be conducted. Zichroni said he would not withdraw from the case unless asked to by his client, and then only with the court’s consent.
Zichroni is reported to have prepared a purely legal defense at the trial which will be held in secret. The defendant’s brother, Meir Vanunu of Boston, demands that the trial be in an open court, and insists that the defense focus mainly on the principles of opposing nuclear research and weapons production.
According to the local media, he wants to turn the trial into a cause celebre aimed at applying world-wide pressure for Vanunu’s release.
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