PRESS RELEASE -19th April 2006

Vanunu Freedom Ride: the bike stops at Israeli Embassy in London as restrictions are renewed for a third year

Over the past two weeks the Vanunu Freedom Ride has been making its way over 500 miles from Faslane Nuclear base in Scotland and will arrive at the Israeli Embassy in London at 3.30pm on Friday 21st April. The Ride will be officially welcomed by Tony Benn and Keith Sonnet, Deputy General Secretary of UNISON, along with many supporters who protest at the ongoing detention of Mordechai Vanunu, Israel's nuclear whistle-blower. The final stop for the Ride will be at 10 Downing Street where a delegation of prominent supporters will hand in a letter asking the Prime Minister to intervene in Vanunu’s case.

The renewal of the draconian and vindictive restrictions for a third year, in violation of Articles 13 and 19 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, prevent Vanunu from leaving Israel to start a new life after serving a full sentence of 18 years imprisonment, 12 years in solitary confinement.

Kam Datta and Adeline O’Keeffe, two of the organisers of the Ride, in a letter to the Israeli Ambassador from the riders, says:

“It was not the fault of the whistle-blower that, in 1986, your country, Israel, had hidden away the sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. And you continue to deny this truth….. Vanunu has no secrets. You know this, we know it. You know that your persecution of him is wrong”.

PRESS RELEASE 7th April 2006

VANUNU FREEDOM RIDE PUSHES OFF FROM FASLANE NUCLEAR BASE

To mark the 2nd anniversary of Mordechai Vanunu’s release from Ashkelon prison, and to call on the Israeli government to finally let Vanunu go, the Vanunu Freedom Ride – a bicycle ride from Faslane to London* - is pedalling its message in support of Vanunu’s full freedom. He is still being denied a passport, lives under severe restrictions that infringe his freedom of movement, speech and association and is currently facing 21 charges of speaking to foreign journalists. The Ride aims to raise awareness of the gross violation of his human rights that the restrictions represent, as well as the issue of nuclear weapons in Israel and elsewhere. .

The Ride begins on Friday 7th April at Faslane, Britain’s nuclear submarine base, and makes its way to London over the next two weeks. The cyclists arrive in London on 21st April, when the restrictions imposed on Vanunu come up for review. The Ride culminates with a protest outside the Israeli Embassy, and the handing in of a letter by a high profile delegation to 10 Downing Street.

There will be many publicity events including rallies, public meetings and film showings along the route organised by local supporters. Well-known supporters of the ride include Tony Benn, Kate Hudson, Ken Livingstone, Michael Mansfield, Mark Thomas and Benjamin Zephaniah.

It is now 20 years since Mordechai Vanunu was kidnapped from Rome, drugged and taken back to Israel to face a secret trial for telling the world about Israel’s nuclear weapons capability – currently a major concern in Iran. He subsequently spent nearly 18 years in prison, 12 of these in solitary confinement. Although released on 21st April 2004, Vanunu is still held in Israel against his will. The Vanunu Freedom Ride is cycling for peace and Mordechai Vanunu’s long awaited freedom.

* via Glasgow, Abington, Dumfries, Carlisle, Tebay, Lancaster, Preston, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford and Hemel Hempstead

ENDS

For further information about the Vanunu Freedom Ride, contact:

Kam Datta: 07952 548 926
Adeline O’Keeffe: 07921 810 161