American Woman Jailed In Israel as Spy for Arabs

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EDITOR'S NOTE — This story has been censored by the Israeli military censor. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Terry Fleener, a 23-year-old American convicted of supplying information about the Jewish state to Arab guerrillas, began a five-year prison term Monday.

Miss Fleener, of San Antonio, Texas, confessed during a one-day trial last Tuesday to charges of conveying information to the enemy, conspiring to convey information to the enemy and rendering service to unlawful groups, her attorney reported. Other charges were dropped after she entered the guilty plea.

“It's better than the death sentence,” Miss Fleener said after the closed-door trial. Her Israeli lawyer, Felicia Langer, called the five-year sentence, handed down Monday, “cruel and unbased.” She said she will appeal. “This is not a heavy sentence, compared to the maximum of 15-20 years,” said prosecuting attorney Sarah Sirotta.

“These are offenses which strike at the security of the state. In other countries she would be hanged.” Details of the proceedings were withheld, the customary procedure here in cases dealing with security. Miss Fleener was arrested Oct. 25 on arrival at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport. In December, U.S.

Embassy officials said Miss Fleener, who is not Jewish, was suspected of intending to photograph military installations in Israel. The indictment alleged she was to gather information in Israel and pass it to a member of an Arab guerrilla organization in Lebanon. Her mother, Mrs. Mary Boettcher of Enon, Ohio, and Dr.

Catherine Edwards, her former professor at the University of Texas in San Antonio, were present at the sentencing and testified as character witnesses during the trial. “She is idealistic, somewhat naive, impetuous, and fiercely loyal to her friends and principles,” said Dr. Edwards, trying to shed light on Miss Fleener's motives.

“She was interested in the Middle East, and very well read. “She confessed in court ... but the sentence does not reflect what she actually did. She didn't hurt anyone,” Dr. Edwards told The Associated Press. Mrs. Boettcher burst into tears after the sentence was read — first in Hebrew, then in English. She said her daughter stood stoically during the sentencing.

Miss Fleener was then taken, under armed guard, to Ramleh prison near Tel Aviv, where she changed her gray-and-white striped dress for prison blues.

How this transcription was made

Masthead not readable on the scan. The label on the slide read: UNCONFIRMED by masthead — Maria's slide label pairs this slide as “The Post-Star Jan 10 1978 / Great Falls Tribune July 5 1979”, and this is THE POST-STAR item, the FIRST label, applied to the SECOND image. — ORDER REVERSED ON THIS SLIDE. See s097_1. The two labels map to the two images in reverse.

Cite this clipping

"American Woman Jailed In Israel as Spy for Arabs," (newspaper unidentified), 10 January 1978. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1978-021. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1978-021