U.S. statement in Pollard case

(JTA)—The U.S. government can file a classified statement to the court in the case of Jonathan Pollard’s strict parole limitations, a federal judge has ruled.

Pollard’s attorneys, who are trying to have the limitations eased, would not be permitted to see the “ex-parte” court submission.

Judge Katherine Forrest of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled Monday that the government could submit the classified statement, but that it must “disclose to Pollard’s attorneys the ‘gist or substance’ of its submission... at a high level of generality that will not disclose classified information,” the Hamodia newspaper and website reported.

Pollard’s attorneys, who were issued security clearances by the Department of Justice in order to represent Pollard, have strongly objected to the government being allowed to submit a secret filing that they would not be permitted to see, according to Hamodia.

Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison for spying for Israel while working as a U.S. Navy analyst, was released from jail in November on mandatory parole after 30 years, during which time he reportedly was a model prisoner.

The restrictive conditions for Pollard’s five-year parole include wearing an electronic ankle bracelet with GPS tracking and surveillance of his and any employer’s computers. He also is confined to his New York home between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.—a condition, Pollard’s attorneys argue, that has precluded him from holding a job.

Pollard also is not permitted to join his wife, Esther, who he married while he was in prison, in Israel. He is restricted in his computer and Internet use, which has prevented him from accepting a job offer to become a senior analyst at a financial firm, according to his attorneys.