Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard has petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice to order the government to acknowledge that he spied for Israel and to disclose what efforts, if any, it has been making to secure his release from a U.S. jail.
Pollard, a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst, was convicted in 1986 of passing information to Israel and was sentenced to life in prison.
In the seven-page petition filed against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pollard said that successive Israeli governments had failed to fulfill promises to help him and pay for his legal expenses.
Pollard, who was granted Israeli citizenship last year, backed his claim with the original U.S. charge sheet to which he admitted guilt. His lawyer, Larry Dub, said the sheet contained the names of Israeli officials with whom Pollard was in contact.
Israel’s censor barred publication of further details of the petition.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement that Netanyahu, prior to his election — and afterward — worked intensively for Pollard’s cause. Israeli officials have said that Netanyahu consistently has raised the issue in his meetings with U.S. officials.
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