New York – Case Against Pollard Parole Conditions To Be Reopened

    3

    Convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard departs U.S. District court after a hearing with his wife Elaine Zeitz in the Manhattan borough of New York December 14, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson New York – The US District Court in the Southern District of New York granted a request on Tuesday by Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard’s lawyers to reopen his appeal against his strict parole conditions, according to a document received Wednesday by The Jerusalem Post.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    Pollard was released on “mandatory” parole on November 20, 2015 after serving exactly 30 years in prison for the crime of conspiracy to commit espionage without intent to harm the United States, by delivering classified information to Israel in 1984 and 1985.

    But his parole conditions require him to be monitored by a GPS device that forces him to violate Shabbat and Jewish holidays and his computers to be monitored, which his lawyers say has prevented him from being employed.

    Pollard asked the court to remove the conditions the day he was released. After a December 14 hearing, the court asked the parole commission to justify the conditions. Pollard’s lawyers called the response the commission issued March 2 “a series of disjointed observations about events that occurred 30 years ago and unsubstantiated statements of US officials.”

    The commission justified the GPS monitoring by citing a letter written by New York Democratic Congressmen Jerrold Nadler and Eliot Engel to Attorney- General Loretta Lynch, asking that Pollard be allowed to move to Israel.

    “The proposition is in clear contradiction to the order of the sentencing court that Pollard be sentenced to the custody of the attorney-general for life and the parole certificate that he signed prior to his release, indicating an understanding that he will not be able to leave the district of release without prior approval of his US probation officer,” the commission wrote.

    Pollard’s lawyers responded that “the commission’s distorted reliance on the Nadler/Engel Letter is proof of how vindictive and biased this proceeding has become toward Mr. Pollard.” They wrote that it was “grossly unfair and unconstitutionally retaliatory” to suggest that because congressmen wrote that Pollard would want to move to Israel in a lawful manner, he might unlawfully violate the terms of his release.

    “Pollard has not concealed that he wishes to live in Israel,” they wrote. “He stated it expressly to the Commission on remand. But, this in no way implies that he would risk his freedom in order to do so.”

    The Court set a June 13 date for oral arguments on the case. But Pollard’s lawyers have had to ask for a later appointment, because the fixed date is also the Shavuot holiday in the US.


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    3 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    LionofZion
    LionofZion
    7 years ago

    Baruch Hashem we are at this phase. All of the nonsense about how Pollard has seriously damaged the United Sates has been disproven and the only thing remaining is for his conditions to be relieved.

    Applestein
    Applestein
    7 years ago

    its time to let Pollard have a life. The world needs to move on

    PMOinFL
    PMOinFL
    7 years ago

    It is time for the Pollards to shut up and go crawl into a hole. They have done enough damage to Jews in both America and Israel. Pollard was lucky to get off with the sentence he got and not the death penalty. B”H he is alive and can be with his wife. Now its time to shut up. American Jews are done spending their time, money and political capital on this traitor. We have much bigger problems today without this troll shoving his face into the spotlight.

    To Mr. Pollard, all I can say is this: Go home. Be with your wife. Daven and thank H” every single day that your life was spared.