A SUNDAY TIMES journalist who was banned from Israel after being accused of espionage was granted special permission to enter the country last week to give court evidence in support of Mordechai Vanunu, the nuclear whistleblower, who could face a fresh jail term for defying the authorities.

Vanunu, a former nuclear technician, served 18 years in prison for treason after revealing details of Israel’s atomic weapons programme at the Dimona plant to The Sunday Times in 1986. On his release three years ago he was prevented from leaving Israel and faced other restrictions, including exchanging information with any foreigner.

He now stands accused of 21 charges of giving interviews to foreign media. The first and most serious charge alleges that Peter Hounam conducted the first interview, which was published in this newspaper and shown in a BBC documentary.

At the time Hounam was arrested by the Israeli secret service, locked in a cell and accused of spying for nuclear secrets. He was freed after a diplomatic and legal battle but was declared persona non grata.

Hounam, who was the last witness called in Vanunu’s trial at Jerusalem magistrates’ court on Friday, accused the Israeli police of making mistakes both in arresting him in 2004 and in alleging that he had conducted the Vanunu interview.

“I was only doing my job in arranging the interview with Mordechai,” Hounam said after the hearing. “What the police and secret police failed to understand is that to comply with the inhumane restrictions on him, I arranged for the Israeli journalist Mrs Yael Lotan to ask all the questions.”

Judge Joel Tzur, who will give his ruling in late April, adjourned on Friday to allow Hounam and Vanunu to chat for five minutes.

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