Indictment: Segev ‘Aided Iran In Its War Against Israel’

YERUSHALAYIM
Former Minister Gonen Segev. (GPO)

The Yerushalayim District Court on Wednesday cleared for publication some of the details of the indictment against former Israeli minister Gonen Segev. Segev’s trial on charges of security-related crimes begins Thursday.

According to details that were cleared for publication, Segev is being charged with at least ten instances of submitting information to enemies that would put the risk of the state or specific individuals at risk. Segev “acted in a manner intended to harm the state,” the indictment says, in actions that extended over at least six years.

Segev was arrested in May on security charges. Media reports said that he had supplied sensitive information about Israel and Israelis to Iran, and the indictment confirms this. “His actions indicated that he acted as an agent for Iran, and he undertook many actions that aided Iran in its war against Israel,” it reads. Among the information given to Iran by Segev, the indictment said, was data about military installations, the names of senior security officials, and “dozens of other pieces of information that assisted Iran in its efforts to harm Israel’s security.”

Under questioning by the Shin Bet, it emerged that Segev in 2012 had formed a relationship with officials at the Iranian Embassy in Nigeria, and he began work as an Iranian agent. He traveled to Iran twice, where he met his handlers. Officials said that Segev was aware of what he was involved in throughout the entire period. He also met with his handlers on a regular basis outside of Iran, often in hotels or apartments in Europe. Segev provided his handlers with information about the Israeli electrical grid, security sites, the location of homes and offices of security officials, and other sensitive data.

In order to fulfill the missions the Iranians gave him, Segev drafted a team of Israeli civilians to provide him with the desired information. He connected several people in his network with his Iranian handlers, introducing them as expatriate Iranian “businessmen.” The Shin Bet said it had released only limited data about the case, asking the court to keep many of the details secret because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Segev was a minister in the government of former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. He was arrested in 2004 on charges of importing illegal drugs into Israel. It was his vote that provided the government with the majority that approved the controversial Oslo Accords in 1993.

Segev had been living in Nigeria in recent years, and attempted to enter the country of Guinea, which refused him entry because of his criminal past. He was sent back to Israel by authorities there, and arrested upon his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. According to reports, Segev had claimed that he was an employee of the Israeli Embassy in Nigeria, and demanded diplomatic passage when trying to enter Guinea.

Segev originally tried to claim that he worked for the embassy, but the Foreign Ministry denied this, adding that it have any direct connection with him. Segev, who worked as a medical doctor in Nigeria, occasionally treated Israeli diplomats and visitors, but this was done on a strictly private basis, the Ministry said. He also was invited to various embassy functions along with other members of the small Israeli and Jewish community in the country, but his presence at these events was as a private individual, the Ministry added.

According to the Shin Bet, Segev provided his Iranian handlers with information about the Israeli electrical grid, security sites, the location of homes and offices of security officials, and other sensitive data. “The Israeli front shuddered when Iran succeeded in such an important intelligence achievement,” a report n in the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper said. “Recruiting a former Minister of Energy for intelligence on the Israeli enemy was a great achievement. Unlike Israel, Iran did not reveal that it had done this, in order not to allow for any doubt that it had actually done this. It was the Shin Bet who revealed this.” Segev “contributed a great deal of intelligence to Iran that will serve it in its struggle against the Israeli entity,” the report said. “The heavy coverage of this story in the Israeli media indicates the level of shock among all Israelis, and especially in its army and security institutions.

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