Bibi Asks U.S. To Free Convicted Spy Pollard

By Barak Ravid and Natasha Mozgovaya (Haaretz) January 4, 2011

The Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama requesting the release of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard for humanitarian reasons.

Pollard was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 on charges of spying on the U.S. for Israel. He is incarcerated at a federal jail in North Carolina.

Former U.S. naval intelligence clerk Jonathan Pollard speaks during an interview, May 15, 1998

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will deliver an address to the Knesset on Tuesday evening in which he will read the letter.

The U.S. State Department referred inquiries on the matter to the U.S. Justice Department.

The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.

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