Israeli police: Nuclear whistleblower arrested
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Seven months after he was released from prison after an 18-year sentence for treason and espionage, Israeli police arrested nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu Thursday morning in Jerusalem on suspicion of passing on confidential information to unauthorized individuals, police said.
Vanunu spent 18 years in an Israeli jail for leaking details of Israel's nuclear program in 1986, court officials said.
He is restricted from leaving the country and from talking to the international media. Israeli officials fear Vanunu might reveal additional Israeli secrets.
Israelis view Vanunu as either a traitor or a hero after he exposed Israel's nuclear secrets to London's The Sunday Times 18 years ago, leading analysts to conclude Israel had made as many as 200 nuclear bombs.
Israel does not comment on whether it has nuclear weapons.
Vanunu became a technician at Israel's Dimona Nuclear Reactor Center in 1976, and he signed a pledge to honor the Official Secrets Act.
He then secretly took photos inside the plant. At the same time, he was studying philosophy at Ben Gurion University, which many experts say contributed to a change in ideals.
