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WASHINGTON & TEL AVIV (Islam Online & AFP) - Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremiah Mattysse, a U.S. military intelligence officer, who failed to report back to his base near San Antonio, Texas, was found in southern Israel.
He apparently joined the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect Habad and entered Israel under a false identity from Cyprus. Police questioned girlfriend Ricky Niv, an Israeli who has dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship, on Sunday about his location. She said that he had fled to Syria wearing a disguise because he was being persecuted for his love of Israel and to find peace and quiet so he can practice his beliefs without any discrimination. Mattysse, commander of a unit that trained military intelligence staff, reportedly had access to sensitive information, a fact that distresses the U.S. military. AFP reports that the U.S. army has refused to say whether Mattysse is under investigation for espionage. It is believed that he fled to Israel because of an army investigation into alleged adultery in February, which had led to his transfer to another post. After spending the night at a police station north of Tel Aviv and questioned by Israeli investigators, Mattysse caught a Continental Airlines flight at 1 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) back to the U.S. Mattysse would probably not receive a heavy prison sentence if he did not disclose sensitive information to others, U.S. officials said. |
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