An Israeli court has charged an Israeli Jew with spying for Iran. The Jerusalem District Court charged Herzl Rad, 31, with spying for an enemy country, endangering national security and having contact with foreign agents.
Rad, a clothing merchant in Jerusalem, was arrested two months ago and has been in detention since then, according to local reports.
But publican of the arrest was censored until this week, when the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency, dropped its opposition to release of the story.
News that an Israeli citizen had been charged with spying for an Islamic country first appeared in the London-based Arabic paper Al-Wasat.
Security officials in Israel denied the paper’s report that Rad had been kidnapped by Mossad officials in Istanbul and flown back to Israel to face charges.
According to Israeli media reports, Rad was arrested in Israel two months ago.
The reports also said Rad, who was born in Iran, contacted the Iranian Consulate in Istanbul one year ago after going into debt, offering information in exchange for money.
After being questioned by Iranian officials in Istanbul in April, he was reportedly flown to Tehran, where he was subsequently recruited.
Rad’s mission was to enter Israel Defense Force bases and obtain information, Israel Television reported. In return, he would receive $10,000 that was to be deposited into a German bank account.
Rad, who has denied all charges against him, maintained that he had been tortured by the Iranians and forced into being spy.
“He was kidnapped by Iranian officials,” Rad’s lawyer told lawyer told Israel Television. “He came to Israel security services to tell them of the torture he had undergone, and instead they arrested him with these trumped-up charges.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
