[JURIST] Attorneys for Jonathan Pollard [official website] announced Tuesday their client was granted parole [statement] by three members of the Parole Commission. Pollard is a former Navy intelligence analyst convicted of conspiracy to deliver classified information to Israel on November 21, 1985. Pollard claimed he learned [advocacy backgrounder] the US was deliberately withholding information pertinent to Israel’s national security, putting many lives at risk. He is set to be released on November 21. According to his lawyers, Pollard has had an exemplary prison record, would not commit any other crimes if released, and has already obtained employment and housing.

Jonathan Pollard was originally sentenced to life in prison, which he believes was a violation of a plea agreement he entered into with the US government. In 2005, Pollard filed legal documents alleging he was tortured [JURIST report] in prison. Later that year, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] denied Pollard’s appeal [JURIST report] seeking to reduce his life sentence. At his first parole hearing in July 2014, parole was denied but the Parole Commission agreed to perform a “record review” several months later to determine whether he should be released on parole.