WELLINGTON, New Zealand, March 28 (UPI) -- Israeli nuclear weapons whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu may move to New Zealand to escape persecution in his own country.
The New Zealand Herald reported Monday that Vanunu has e-mailed Green Party MP Keith Locke thanking him for his efforts to get him a New Zealand passport.
Vanunu said awarding him a New Zealand passport would send a message of support for nuclear disarmament in the 60th anniversary year of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.
However, New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff questioned the effort to get Vanunu a passport if Israel continued to ban him from leaving that country.
Moroccan-born Vanunu was freed from prison in Israel last year after serving an 18-year sentence for disclosing Israeli atomic secrets to a British newspaper.
However, he may face further incarceration on additional charges.
