Israeli soldier convicted of leaking military secrets released from jail

Former Israeli army soldier Anat Kamm, who was convicted of leaking classified military documents to local Ha'aretz newspaper, was released Sunday, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) confirmed to Xinhua. In February 2011, Kamm was convicted in leaking 1,800 classified military documents to Ha'aretz journalist Uri Blau. Kamm came out of the Neve Tirza Women's Prison accompanied by her father and refused to answer questions by dozens of journalists who were congregating at the prison gate. Kamm was scheduled to be release in May 2015. However, the IPS parole board accepted her request to shorten her three-year-and-a half sentence. The IPS added that the decision was made amid Kamm's good behavior during her prison term. Kamm was originally charged with espionage and was questioned by the Israeli Security Agency. However, she signed a plea bargain and was charged with handing over secret information, without the original charges of espionage and "attempting to damage national security." The affair draw a lot of local and international attention, specifically regarding journalist ethics.