Court orders explanation of parole conditions for freed spy Pollard

Judge says monitoring of computer use may be unnecessary, though US claims recently released convict still holds sensitive intel

NEW YORK — A judge said Monday the US Parole Commission will have to explain the reasons it wants to monitor computer use and trace the whereabouts of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard.

Judge Katherine Forrest said at a hearing in Manhattan federal court that a one-page explanation issued so far is insufficient.

She said she wants to know whether Pollard, released from prison last month, still possesses top-secret information that could endanger national security.

Defense lawyers for the former US civilian Navy analyst say information he possessed before he served 30 years in prison for spying on behalf of Israel is of no value. They say strict monitoring and a curfew are unreasonable.

Assistant US Attorney Rebecca Tinio said the Justice Department’s National Security Division says the majority of information Pollard once had remains classified.

She said the Justice Department’s National Security Division told her that his classified information would be labeled top secret, meaning it could be expected to cause “exceptionally grave damage to national security” if it was released.

Tinio acknowledged that the government had made no mention in court papers before the hearing that it believed most of the information Pollard possessed three decades ago remained top secret.

She also said the government was willing to continue negotiations over parole conditions.

Forrest said some parole conditions Pollard has agreed to will remain in place, such as a requirement that there be prepublication review of any book he might write.

Pollard was released from prison last month. He is planning to work in finance.

His lawyers have been fighting for a review of his parole conditions, which among other things, prohibit him from immigrating to Israel for five years.

Forrest said the review was “the first step, and I think this is the right step,” according to Reuters.

“If there is secret information Jonathan Pollard could disclose, then restrictive conditions could be necessary,” Forrest said, according to the report.

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