VIGIL AND PRESS CONFERENCE AT ISRAELI PRISON
ON EVE OF VANUNU'S RELEASE

April 19, 2004
Contact:
Jack Cohen-Joppa, U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu
voice: 520-323-8697 e-mail: freevanunu@mindspring.com
Call Jack for contact phone numbers in Israel.

Representatives of an international delegation of Mordechai Vanunu's supporters will speak at a press conference tomorrow, April 20, at 5 p.m. Israel time (10 a.m. EDT) across the street from Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, Israel. Vanunu, the long imprisoned nuclear whistleblower, is set to leave prison the next morning but may not be free. Authorities have issued a list of restrictions (below) with the intent of "banning" Mordechai Vanunu from participating fully in civil society, at risk of further imprisonment.

The press conference will occur during an afternoon vigil for Vanunu by the 90+ member international delegation and scores of Israeli supporters. Speakers at the Press Conference will include Gideon Spiro of the Israeli Committee for Mordechai Vanunu and for a Middle East Free of Atomic, Biological and Chemical Weapons; Issam Makhoul, Israeli-Arab Member of Knesset; Mairaed Maguire, Irish Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in 1976; Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party MP and Vice Chair of House of Commons Human Rights Committee; and Susannah York, international actor, supporter of human rights causes and Trustee of Campaign to Free Vanunu, UK.

The delegation will return to the prison at 8 a.m. the morning of April 21, to welcome Vanunu as he walks out of prison, and protest if he is not permitted to return their greeting. People of peace and good will are invited to join the welcoming vigils.

Restrictions to be faced by Mordechai Vanunu on release:

Mordechai Vanunu will face many restrictions on his release from Ashkelon Prison, so many that his new freedom will be seriously compromised. These draconian restrictions have been imposed under emergency rules inherited by Israel from the 1940s British mandate over Palestine.
1. Vanunu will have to register to live in an Israeli city of his choice.
2. He will have to give notice to the authorities if he wishes to travel to another city.
3. He will not be allowed to leave Israel for 6 months. This restriction will be reviewed at the end of 6 months and could be renewed.
4. He will not be allowed to contact foreigners either by phone or in person.
5. It is unclear whether his American adoptive parents, who have been allowed to visit him while in custody, will be allowed to speak to him when free.
6. He will not be allowed to go within 100 meters of any embassy, visit any port of entry, come within 300 meters of any international boundary and he may not be allowed to worship in a church of his choice.

Other Americans participating include:
Nick and Mary Eoloff: Mordechai Vanunu's adoptive parents since 1997, from St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Reverend Ed Browning: Retired Bishop Episcopal Church, USA
Felice Cohen-Joppa: Coordinator, U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu. Tucson, Arizona, USA
Art Laffin: Associate coordinator, U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu, Washington, D.C., USA. Member of the Catholic Worker Movement.
Barry Roth: Psychiatrist, peace and anti-nuclear activist, Boston, Massachusetts, USA