Journalist who received and kept military papers to be indicted

Haaretz reporter Uri Blau is to be indicted for possession of thousands of classified military documents leaked to him by a former soldier, Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein announced Wednesday.

The documents were leaked to Blau by Anat Kamm, who had collected them during her military service at the IDF's Central Command bureau. Kamm was convicted of espionage in February 2011 over the leaks, and has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Weinstein concluded that Blau had violated an agreement he had signed with government authorities and had "given the authorities the false impression that he had turned over all the classified documents," while in actuality he had turned over only 50 of the 1,800 documents in his possession. It was only after a second agreement was struck between Blau and the authorities that he turned over the remainder of the documents, but the second agreement did not include a clause protecting him from prosecution.

According to a statement issued by Weinstein Wednesday, Blau will be charged with unauthorized possession of classified information, but will not be charged with intending to harm state security.

Weinstein noted that the decision was made after "taking all of the relevant considerations into account, including the need to restrain enforcement policies in order to preserve the reputation of the Israeli press as a free press, which ensures the public's essential right to know."

Weinstein concluded, however, that "the potential acquisition (of the documents) by hostile parties could have damaged the state's security and endangered the lives of IDF soldiers."

"Possessing operational documents is entirely different than collecting journalistic data for publication in good faith," he said.

Haaretz issued a statement saying the attorney-general's decision to indict Blau was “unfortunate and sets a precedent in terms of its ramifications on the freedom of the press in Israel, and especially on the ability to cover the security apparatus."

The Israel Journalists' Association also issued a statement lamenting Weinstein's decision, saying, "The attorney-general's decision sets Israel back a generation and calls into question its status as a true democracy."

In contrast, Nachi Eyal, director-general of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, welcomed the decision, saying, "Blau's [actions] served the enemies of Israel."

　

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