Details Released on the Espionage Charges Against an Israeli Minister for Iran

Israeli media and some current and former intelligence and security officials have released more details about Gonen Segev, a former Israeli minister accused and arrested for espionage on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Gonen Segev, who served as Minister of Energy for a year and a half in the governments of Yitzhak Rabin and then Shimon Peres over 23 years ago, was officially charged with treason against Israel this Monday. A report provided by the Shin Bet and Israeli police on Monday, June 18, acknowledged that Dr. Segev had been 'transferred' to Israel last month and had been under interrogation by the Israeli internal security agency during this time, with the indictment against him based on the interrogations conducted. The indictment states that since the establishment of the first contacts with Iranian intelligence agents in 2012, he 'spied for the enemy during wartime and provided information on energy sources, buildings, security measures, and Israeli decisions to Iran.' The Shin Bet and police report indicated that Gonen Segev was unable to travel from Nigeria to Equatorial Guinea last month due to a criminal record in Israel and was subsequently handed over to Israel. Israeli media reported that Mossad agents transferred Gonen Segev from Equatorial Guinea to Israel and placed him in the custody of Shin Bet interrogators. Gonen Segev represented a small party called 'Somet' in the coalition governments of Rabin and Peres, and his party disappeared two decades ago. When he was Minister of Energy, Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by an armed Israeli extremist for his peace efforts with the Palestinians, and Shimon Peres, who formed a temporary government after Rabin's death, retained Gonen Segev in the position of Minister of Energy, but Peres's government was short-lived, and Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister in the elections of that same year, 1996. During the years he withdrew from politics, he went to Africa and, like a large group of Israelis who go to Africa for business and consulting after their careers in various institutions, he settled in Nigeria. According to reports from his country’s media, although the Israeli government revoked Dr. Segev's medical license in 2005 due to a criminal case involving the smuggling of 30,000 psychotropic pills from the Netherlands to Israel and the forgery of a diplomatic passport renewal, his medical license remained valid in foreign countries, and he had a successful medical clinic in Nigeria. Israeli media have reported that Dr. Segev was the physician for many Israelis and the Jewish community in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, and Israeli political officials and their families would go to his clinic for medical matters. His medical specialty was in pediatrics and surgery, but according to these reports, Dr. Segev once saved the life of an Israeli embassy guard in Abuja who had suffered clinical death and was praised for reviving this security member of the embassy. Meanwhile, the Israeli embassy in Nigeria denied any official connection between its members and Gonen Segev, stating that individuals went to his clinic at their own request and he was not 'the doctor designated as the embassy's trusted physician.' However, Israeli media say that many foreign embassies in Nigeria also recognized Dr. Segev as a successful and experienced doctor, and in this context, for the first time, Iranian embassy officials in Abuja apparently invited him to treat the child of one of their embassy members. Israeli media reports claim that the invitation to Dr. Segev to treat the child of an Iranian embassy official was apparently a way for Iran to 'set a trap' for him to become acquainted with him, and these interactions continued later. During his stay in Nigeria, Dr. Segev met a German woman who also lived in the country, which led to marriage and, for this reason, he obtained a German passport, with which he apparently traveled to Iran twice. Three days after this story became public, Israeli media reported on multiple interviews with those who knew this politician, statesman, doctor, and businessman, referring to him as a 'problematic personality,' 'adventurous mind,' and 'someone who was always drawn to crime,' while simultaneously portraying him as a 'mad genius' who considered himself 'superior to anyone else.' These media also examined how his resentment towards his homeland due to two trials in past decades and a roughly three-year prison sentence in Israel last decade might have pushed him towards connections with Iran. However, the responses from those interviewed were speculative. Israeli media report that Dr. Segev has denied all charges during interrogations, claiming that he intended to gather information from Iran to share it with Israel. He emphasized that he had no need for these connections, did not receive any money, committed no treason, had no ideological basis for treason, and was financially independent, always wanting to do something that would allow him to return to Israel with dignity after feeling ashamed of leaving. These reports claim that he told his interrogators that he had 'misled the Iranians'; the accuracy or inaccuracy of the statements and actions attributed to him will be determined in court. A young rabbi from the Nigerian Jews who had a close relationship with Dr. Segev described him as 'very, very kind, generous, and always ready to help anyone at any hour, a skilled doctor who personally and quickly answered everyone's calls, even at midnight, and always available, and a pleasant man whose company was enjoyable,' adding that whenever he asked him when he would go to Israel, he would say 'when I am dignified.' Israeli media have also released videos of Dr. Segev participating in the 70th anniversary celebration of Israel's independence in Nigeria last month, where he appeared very happy alongside other Israelis and Jews. Reports from Israeli media emphasize that Nigerian Jews and the Israeli community residing in the country are 'shocked' by Dr. Segev's case. These reports also discuss what led to Dr. Segev's arrest, stating that he asked an Israeli official to introduce him to Iranians whom he referred to as 'ordinary merchants.' However, this individual reported the matter to his country. According to Ynet, Gonen Segev presented the story differently, claiming that he informed a 'senior official in Israeli security agencies' about his contacts with the Iranians. Israeli Channel 2 also reported on Tuesday night, citing Mr. Segev's lawyers, that he would deny all charges in court and would say that he intended to act like a 'double agent' and that when he informed the Israeli official about his contacts, he was 'waiting for further instructions from him.' According to Ynet, during the month he was 'transferred' to Israel, he was held under the supervision of Shin Bet members in a security facility to prevent a repeat of the 'suicide' of an individual known as 'Prisoner X.' Reports from Israeli and world media indicate that 'Prisoner X' was a Mossad operative who worked on a project related to Iran but was also suspected of treason and 'committed suicide' in a prison where he was held in anonymity and isolation. It later became known that he was a young man named 'Ben Ziegler' from Australian Jews. Israeli television networks have reported that Gonen Segev, during interrogations at the request of the internal security agency, was taken to the city court of 'Rishon Lezion' at night, wearing a wig and glasses, to extend his detention, and the head of the Israeli judiciary, Ms. Einat Ron, was the only person present as the court president, and even the court secretary was omitted, with all security cameras turned off to prevent anyone from recognizing him or leaking news of his arrest and espionage charges to Iran before it was due. These reports state that Shin Bet provided a list of Israeli lawyers who work with security agencies and keep secrets to Segev, and he chose the legal office of two lawyers to defend himself. The police, media, and his lawyers have only published a small part of the indictment at this stage, and the rest remains confidential. The Israeli police announced that Gonen Segev was officially transferred on Tuesday, June 29, from the temporary detention facility of the security agency to Gilboa prison in 'Beit She'an,' a prison designated for security prisoners. However, he is not in solitary confinement and is placed in a general section alongside criminal prisoners who have been assessed as not posing a threat to him, and this section has a public phone and a small shop. In the latest development, Israeli state television reported on Wednesday night, June 30, that Mr. Segev is very dissatisfied with the interrogations and the month-long detention under Shin Bet and will soon be brought to court for an extension of his detention, this time openly. An Israeli legal journalist told this network that 'espionage for the enemy during wartime,' the charge against Gonen Segev, could carry the death penalty, but in Israel, apart from Adolf Eichmann, no one has been executed, and Segev's charge may lead to a very interesting legal dispute; because according to Israeli law, Iran is still not considered an 'enemy,' and the status of the two countries is not officially 'wartime.' According to Ynet, 'a senior Israeli security official' said on Tuesday night that Gonen Segev is 'a miserable carcass who sold information he had and information he did not have for a small amount of money.' However, this official also stated that 'no substantial harm has been done to Israel, but it has been a limited loss.' According to Iranian media, however, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the spokesman for the Iranian government, said on Tuesday that Israel 'uses every opportunity to accuse the Islamic Republic, but I am unaware and innocent of what this case is about.'