The Israel Supreme Court rejected today the appeal of Dr. Israel Beer, former member of the Israel Army General Staff, from a ten-year sentence for espionage and increased the sentence to 15 years.
Dr. Beer, who held the rank of colonel, was a lecturer on military history in Tel Aviv University when he was arrested last January. The case attracted widespread notice because of his association with NATO as a military expert and his purported friendship with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.
The Tel Aviv District Court had found him guilty on three counts of maintaining contact with foreign agents and transmitting secret military information. Proceedings in both the trial and the appeal were held behind closed doors but the judgments made it evident that the espionage efforts were on behalf of am East European country.
The appeal, heard by a three-man tribunal headed by Chief Justice Yitzbak Clshan, was a twofold action. One was Dr. Beer’s appeal against the conviction and sentence. The other was a prosecution motion for a longer sentence on contention the ten-year term was too lenient.
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