The trial of Gonen Segev, Israel ex-minister was held behind closed doors

Israeli justice ministry said an Israeli ex-minister charged with spying for Iran has reached a plea bargain with prosecutors that will see him serve 11 years in prison.

Iran Press/Middle East: “ As part of the agreement, Gonen Segev will plead guilty to serious espionage and transfer of information to the enemy, the Israeli justice ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, Daily Mail reported.

A sentencing hearing was set for February 11.

The trial of Segev was held behind closed doors. A few details of the accusations publicly released.

He has served as energy and infrastructure minister from 1995 to 1996.

In 2004, Segev was charged with trying to smuggle drug from the Netherlands using a diplomatic passport with a falsified expiry date. He has also been convicted of attempted credit card fraud.

Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said on December 18 that Israeli spies have been working “all over the world in regards to Iran’s nuclear program,” claiming, “We also visit there periodically… to ‘catch up,’” without providing details.

In response, the director general for counter-espionage at the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said that Netanyahu “has the right to spin yarns” with regards to the regime’s spying operations.

Netanyahu, the official added, “has come under the most intense internal and foreign pressure due to leaks about an Israeli minister spying for Iran as well as infiltration of the Zionist regime’s intelligence services by the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The official was referring to the arrest in June of former Israeli energy minister Gonen Segev on charges of spying for Iran.
The director general for counter-espionage at the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said that Netanyahu had recently ordered Israel’s so-called Internal Security Agency, better known by the acronym Shabak or the Shin Bet, to check on all political, parliamentary and intelligence officials for possible contacts with Iranian intelligence services.

“This order is indicative of the realities that do not need explanations,” the official added. 101/ 211

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