US parole board refuses release of Jonathan Pollard
Panel indicates that Pollard, already in jail 30 years, will only be freed
in 2030
124news - November 20, 2014
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/51608-141120-us-parole-board-refuses-release-of-spy-jonathan-pollard

A US parole board has denied a request to free US-Israeli spy Jonathan
Pollard, who has begun his 30th year in prison, according to activist and
media reports.

Pollard, 60, was an analyst in the US Navy and was convicted of passing
secrets to Israel and sentenced to a life term, which expires in 2030. Over
the past 20 years, since he first became eligible for parole, successive
Israeli governments and public figures have lobbied with US administrations
for his release, to no avail.

A statement on Wednesday by from the Campaign for the Release of Jonathan
Pollard quoted American officials as saying that releasing Pollard would
“constitute contempt for the severity of the offense and promote a lack of
respect for the law.”

According to The Jerusalem Post, the administration's representatives at the
parole board hearing spoke menacingly, treated Pollard with contempt and
made it clear that the Israeli agent would not see the Jewish state any time
soon, if ever. Those present described the hearing as a “kangaroo court” and
even “a lynching.”

The rejection letter that the parole commission sent Pollard in August,
which the Post exclusively obtained, was also harsh in tone.

“The breadth and scope of the classified information that you sold to the
Israelis was the greatest compromise of US security to that date,” the
letter said.

“You passed thousands of Top Secret documents to Israeli agents, threatening
US relations in the Middle East among the Arab countries.”

The commission wrote that ahead of the 30th anniversary of Pollard’s
incarceration, it would conduct another review of the case in February 2015
and another parole hearing five months later, the Post reported.

But when asked whether the government would once again oppose Pollard’s
parole next July, a commission official replied, “Absolutely, vigorously”.

The letter indicated that barring parole next year, Pollard would have to
continue serving his life sentence, meaning 45 years.

Pollard, 60, is suffering from multiple recurring health problems and has
been hospitalized several times recently without word getting out to the
media.