Shabtai Kalmanovitch, sentenced to nine years in prison in 1987 for spying for the Soviet Union, was released Wednesday from the Ashmoret prison at Beit Lid, a few hours after President Chaim Herzog commuted his sentence under an agreement reached with authorities in Moscow.
The presidential order for his release, after serving just over five years of his prison term, was signed Wednesday morning on the recommendation of the Justice Ministry, the prime minister, foreign minister and security authorities.
Under the terms of the release, the Russian authorities have undertaken to facilitate the immigration to Israel of Jewish refuseniks whose permission to leave both the former Soviet Union and its successor republics was withheld for security reasons.
Just as in the days of strict and often arbitrary Soviet rule, these were persons who were said to have been in possession of state secrets because of previous work.
Under the terms of the agreement, Moscow has also reportedly agreed to provide information about missing Israelis.
Kalmanovitch, then a recent arrival from Moscow, was reportedly a plant in Israel, trained at a KGB school and sent to gather economic intelligence.
Shortly after his arrival, he established a successful import and export business, mainly with various countries in Africa. This is reported to have been the main field of his intelligence-gathering on behalf of Moscow.
He began pressing for his release, under a presidential pardon or commutation of his sentence, two or three years ago, when his health deteriorated from advanced diabetes, which threatened the amputation of a leg. He has spent the last two years in the prison hospital.
Kalmanovitch’s mother said Wednesday that she did not know what her son intended doing following his release. But she said he planned to stay in Israel and return to economic activities.
He was divorced from his wife a few years ago. The couple have a 17-year-old daughter.
Kalmanovitch was described by the prison authorities as an “exemplary inmate.”
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