Israeli minister sentenced for spying for Iran
An Israeli court sent on Tuesday a former minister
to 11 years in prison after finding him guilty of spying on behalf of Iran.
The Jerusalem District Court approved the sentence
on Gonen Segev amidst a plea deal signed between Segev and the State Attorney's
office.
In the deal signed in January, Segev admitted having
committed "serious espionage" and "providing information to the
enemy."
The Jerusalem branch of the State Attorney's office
issued a statement following the court decision, saying Segev, according to his
own admission, had been in contact with the Iranian intelligence for five
years.
"He was in constant contact with his operators
through a secret, coded system and met them in Iran and various countries
around the globe."
Last May, Segev was extradited from Equatorial
Guinea and arrested in Israel.
Segev, 62, a former parliament member with the
right-wing party of Tzomet, once served as Israel's minister of energy and
infrastructure. After his political career, he turned to business.
In 2004, he was
arrested for attempting to smuggle thousands of ecstasy pills from Amsterdam to
Israel. He admitted guilty amidst a plea bargain and served five years in
prison.
