Peter Hounam

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Peter Hounam

Peter Hounam (born 1944) is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
journalist who has worked for Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)

The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom. There is also a Republic of Ireland edition; contrary to a popular misconception, the Irish edition of the Sunday Times is not linked to The Irish Times newspaper, which is published Monday to Saturday in Dublin....
, The Mirror, the London Evening Standard
Evening Standard

The Evening Standard is an United Kingdom tabloid regional local newspaper published and sold in London and surrounding areas of southeast England....
, and BBC Television, as well as having published several books:

In 1996, Hounam founded Vision Paperbacks, of which he is the chairman.

He is most famous for his role in the case of Mordechai Vanunu

Mordechai Vanunu

Mordechai Vanunu , born in Marrakech, Morocco on 14 October, 1954 is an Israeli former nuclear weapon technician who revealed details of Nuclear weapons and Israel to the History of British newspapers in 1986....
, Israeli nuclear technician who revealed Israel's secret nuclear bomb programme. Hounam's interview with Vanunu appeared in the Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)

The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom. There is also a Republic of Ireland edition; contrary to a popular misconception, the Irish edition of the Sunday Times is not linked to The Irish Times newspaper, which is published Monday to Saturday in Dublin....
in 1986.

In April 2004, Hounam traveled to Israel for Vanunu's release from prison on April 21, 2004.

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Peter Hounam (born 1944) is a British

United Kingdom

Secret Cult, with Andrew Hogg, about the School of Economic Science in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, ISBN 0-85648-837-2
The Mini-Nuke Conspiracy: How Mandela Inherited a Nuclear Nightmare about nuclear weapons in South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
, Viking (October 1, 1995) ISBN 0-670-86925-2 (with Steve McQuillan)
Who Killed Diana? with Derek McAdam, 1998, ISBN 1-901250-17-2
Operation Cyanide: Why the Bombing of the USS Liberty Nearly Caused World War III, (2003) suggesting that USS Liberty attack
USS Liberty incident

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a Neutral country United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty , by Israeli Air Force jet fighter planes and motor torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War....
by Israel, with the connivance of President Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States ....
(USA), was to be blamed on Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, to justify attacking that country.
The Woman from Mossad: The Torment of Mordechai Vanunu. ISBN 1-58394-005-7 paperback edition title: The Woman from Mossad: The Story of Mordechai Vanunu & the Israeli Nuclear Program

In 1996, Hounam founded Vision Paperbacks, of which he is the chairman.

He is most famous for his role in the case of Mordechai Vanunu

Mordechai Vanunu

England

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
) by the Mossad

Mossad

The Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel. "Mossad" is the Hebrew word for institute or institution. Membership in the Mossad is very prestigious in Israeli society, and the organization is considered to rank among the most effective intelligence agencies in the world....
in 1986.

At 9.30pm on May 26, 2004, while working on a BBC documentary about Vanunu, Hounam was taken from his hotel in Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
by five plainclothes Shin Bet officers, reportedly for having contact with Vanunu, who is not allowed to see journalists without special permission. Before being taken, Hounam was able to inform an Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London, England in 1961, AI draws its attention to human rights abuses and...
activist of his arrest, but did not get access to a lawyer.

On May 27, 2004, the Jerusalem district court imposed a gag order

Gag order

A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public....
, preventing further details of the arrest from becoming known. Hounam was scheduled to make a court appearance, as the security services request permission from the courts to continue holding him.

Reportedly, on May 22, 2004, Vanunu was secretly interviewed for The Sunday Times, by Yael Lotan, an Israeli journalist. Her two-hour interview was videotaped by an Israeli television crew. Hounam apparently knew of the interview, and was planning to use portions of it in his documentary. He had been on his way to meet Lotan when he was arrested.

Hounam's wife Hilarie Hounam disputed the allegations that her husband violated the conditions placed upon Vanunu's release. Speaking from the family's home in the Scottish town of Aberfeldy she said: "Peter has been absolutely scrupulous in following the letter of the regulations. He hasn't talked to him [Vanunu] since the day of his release, and everything has had to be done second- or third-hand, through his brother and through lawyers." She added: "I think the secret services can pretty much do what they like in Israel, and this is of no surprise to Peter — he's known Israel well for 18 years and has been following Vanunu's case all that time."

Hounam was detained for a day, during which the case attracted intense media coverage, and after which he was released without charge. Israel's Attorney-General reportedly ordered his release, after consulting with the heads of the security services, to lower the profile of the case. Hounam returned to the UK on May 28, 2004, and the BBC announced it would broadcast the Vanunu interview the following Sunday.

Peter Hounam

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