Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard was released on Friday after 30 years in an American prison but he will stay in the United States under strict parole conditions in a case that strained relations between the two allies for decades.
Pollard, a former civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in 1987 of passing classified information to Israel.
He was released from a federal prison in North Carolina and headed to New York, where he was set up for electronic monitoring as required under his parole, according to spokesmen for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Marshals Service.
"After 30 years in prison, he wants to get his life back on track," said Eliot Lauer, one of Pollard's attorneys.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, which has long pushed for Pollard to be freed, welcomed his release. But Netanyahu has urged Israelis not to celebrate too much in case that damages efforts to persuade the U.S. government to let Pollard leave for Israel sooner.
Pollard, who was granted Israeli citizenship while in prison, has said he wants to emigrate to Israel, where his wife lives and where he can expect to receive substantial Israeli government back pay.
"I'm sorry, I can't comment on anything today," the 61-year-old Pollard told a swarm of reporters as he left the courthouse in Manhattan with his wife, Esther, after being fitted for the monitoring.
Pollard's lawyers filed a petition with the court seeking to rescind the parole conditions, calling them "onerous and oppressive."
He will be required to wear an electronic bracelet so his movements can be monitored at all times.
His computers and those of his employer will be subjected to unfettered monitoring, something his lawyers said could prevent Pollard from starting a job in research at an unnamed New York City investment firm.
Read more
No comments:
Post a Comment