Uri Blau
Uri BlauFlash90

The Tel Aviv Magistrates Court convicted on Tuesday Haaretz journalist Uri Blau of "possessing secret information without intent to harm state security."

Blau admitted the charges as part of a plea bargain, and the conviction is a purely technical step.

The prosecution will request that the court sentence Blau to four months in jail, and these may turn into four months of community service.

Blau sounded unrepentant in the course of the court session: "The matter that for which I am standing trial has accompanied me for the last three years," he said. "In some respects it has taken over my life. The fact that I admitted to a criminal offense and that Anat Kam is serving a harsh sentence for transferring military documents to me are certainly facts that I have difficulty with and that I did not pray for."

"I am a journalist," he said. "As such, I am committed to bringing the most possible information to the public so that it can judge and understand the reality around it. That is the essence of free media in a democratic country and that is how I see me role as journalist. Obviously, the information I publish is not always convenient."