(13 Jan 2001) Arabic/Nat
XFA
The trial of an Egyptian engineer charged with spying for Israel opened in Cairo amid tight security on Saturday.

Thirty-five-year-old Shereef Fawzi Mohammed el-Falali is accused of espionage and of providing Israel with reports on Egypt's economy, politics and tourism "to harm the country's national interests."

Prosecutors say a Russian national, previously described by officials as a Mossad agent, paid el-Falali 5-thousand U-s dollars to provide Israel with this information.

If convicted, el-Falali could receive the death penalty.

The Russian man was also being tried in absentia on Saturday.

During the three-hour-long hearing el-Falali - dressed in a white training suit - seemed relaxed, flashing wide smiles at his parents.

Security forces were deployed outside the state security court and inside the packed court room.

Ahmed Saiid Abdel Khalek, el-Falali's lawyer and a former judge, asked the court to summon a number of witnesses.

They include a retired army general and a senior government official, from whom el-Falali allegedly tried to wean information.

Egypt's trade attache in Spain and a businessman in the field of tourism were also required to show up in court.

The court also agreed to call a computer expert to read information on a computer and disks found at el-Falali's home.

Officials have said "equipment used for intelligence purposes," including a computer containing some of the information el-Falali allegedly passed to Israel was found when they arrested him on September 27 at his home in the upscale Cairo suburb of Heliopolis.

Abdel Khalek said the information on the computer will prove that the suspect is not a spy, but just a swindler who sold information that anyone can find on the Internet.

After the hearing, the court adjourned until February 11.

Prosecutors have previously said el-Falali was originally recruited by a Jewish German women whom he fell in love with in Europe.

She then introduced him to the Russian person who posed as an arms trader in Spain, but was in reality a Mossad agent, they said.

According to the officials, the Russian national introduced el-Falali to two Mossad officers who trained him in intelligence work and commissioned him to photograph Egyptian military installations.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Fawzi Mohammed el-Falali claimed his son was framed, arguing that he doesn't like to deal with Israelis.

El-Falali's lawyer was as upbeat, saying that the presented evidence is "insufficient and not enough to persuade the judiciary."

The trial took place at a time when anti-Israeli sentiments have been running high in the region due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian clashes.

In spite of an Egyptian peace treaty with Israel in 1979- the first between an Arab country and the Jewish state- relations have remained cool between the two countries.

Angry at the violence, Egypt withdrew its ambassador to Israel in November, the same month authorities made el-Falali's case public, further straining relations between the two countries.

The last person convicted in Egypt of spying for Israel was Israeli Arab Azzam Azzam.

He was sentenced in 1997 to 15 years in jail, while his Egyptian accomplice was jailed for 25 years.

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"The evidence is not enough and insufficient to persuade judges."
SUPER CAPTION: Ahmed Saiid Abdel Khalek, defence lawyer

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"I am sure that my son is innocent and he was framed."
SUPER CAPTION: Fawzi el-Falali, father of defendant

Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть