Ritter

From Correspondent Richard Roth

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Former United Nations arms inspector Scott Ritter has been taken to task by his former boss for allegedly violating his U.N. contract by going public with information about weapons inspections in Iraq.

U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said United Nations Special Commission Chairman Richard Butler sent Ritter a letter, supported by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, expressing concern about his public airing of knowledge obtained through his job.

Ritter resigned in late August in protest over lack of action by the United Nations following Iraq's refusal to cooperate in weapons inspections.

Eckhard said Ritter is "not free to divulge this kind of information."

Asked about punishment, he said "Well, we don't have a prison system here."

In Wednesday's Washington Post, Ritter was quoted as saying that Iraq is close to making nuclear bombs because it possesses essential implosion devices to manufacture the devices.

Ritter also apparently shared information on documents he said he gave to Washington officials or presented at international conferences.

When Ritter resigned, a spokesman for the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM), his agency, said Ritter was free to talk but not to disclose documents.