Supreme Court to Decide Pollard Case on Monday

Shurat Hadin Media Release - January 12, 2006

On Monday 16, January 2006 - nearly a year after Jonathan Pollard's petition for Prisoner of Zion status was filed - the Supreme Court of Israel will render its decision. The decision is scheduled to be read at 9:00 AM at the Supreme Court Building in Jerusalem. The public is welcome to attend.

BACKGROUND:

Jonathan Pollard's PoZ petition, seeks to compel the Government of Israel to recognize the obvious: that Jonathan Pollard received a disproportionate life sentence and has been afflicted and tortured in American prisons for 2 decades simply because he is a Jew who served the Jewish State, and that he should be granted official status as a Prisoner of Zion (PoZ).

PoZ status would offer Pollard a measure of protection in prison and provide him with specific benefits. It would also impose specific obligations upon the Government.

The petition caused waves of shock around the world when it was first filed (8 May 2005) because it revealed, for the first time, explicit details of the torture and inhumane treatment that Jonathan Pollard has endured in US prisons over the last 2 decades. An expedited hearing was requested, and the petition was finally heard by a panel of 3 judges (headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak) on 5 September 2005.

Jonathan Pollard is represented by Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner. Attorney Larry Dub is of counsel. Esther Pollard, Jonathan's wife, will attend the 01/16/06 court hearing on behalf of her husband.

According to Pollard's wife, Esther: "Jonathan's petition simply asks the court to compel the Government to recognize the same reality as all the rest of Israel. Jonathan is in his 21st year of a life sentence for an offense that usually carries a 2 to 4 year sentence. Every Israeli knows in his heart that the harsh treatment and grossly disproportionate sentence that Jonathan Pollard received can only be explained by the fact that Jonathan is a Jew who served the Jewish State. Jonathan has been officially recognized as a PoZ by the Prisoners of Zion Organization and by former Prisoners of War and their respective organizations. Even the Knesset issued a statement declaring that Jonathan is a PoZ."

Attorney Darshan- Leitner comments: "The Government's refusal to grant Jonathan Pollard PoZ status, even though he legally qualifies for this status, can only be understood as politically motivated, and as an attempt on the part of the Government to continue to avoid discharging its legal obligations to Mr. Pollard. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court's decision will establish for the first time, that the 'great bastion of democracy', the United States of America, is holding a Prisoner of Zion; and that as such, he has been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment and to a sentence which is grossly disproportionate to offense with which he was charged.

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