Death Threats Reportedly Spur Prison Officials to Move Pollard

Prison officials refused comment Monday on a report that Jonathan Jay Pollard, a former U.S. Navy analyst sentenced to life in prison for selling classified military information to Israel, was moved to a prison hospital because of threats on his life.

The Jerusalem Post reported in Tel Aviv Monday that Pollard, 32, was moved for his own protection from a federal prison in Petersburg, Va., to the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield.

The newspaper said black Muslim and white Aryan Brotherhood prisoners threatened to kill Pollard while he was held in Petersburg because of his links to Israel. It did not cite its sources.

Will Undergo Evaluation

Rick Cowan, administrative assistant at the medical center, confirmed Monday that Pollard had arrived Friday for a routine medical evaluation, a process that he said usually lasts 60 to 100 days.

Cowan declined comment on the Post’s report that Pollard was moved because of threats at Petersburg but denied the Post’s report that the medical center has a special unit for prisoners who have received death threats. He said there would be no extreme security measures for Pollard.