A Jordanian government employee has been charged with spying for Israel, after he allegedly confessed to providing Tel Aviv with information about the Jordanian military and other facilities.
Khaled Mohammed Salim al-Hayajneh was detained Oct. 21, 2003, but the charges filed against him, made available to The Associated Press on Monday, brought the case to light for the first time.
Trial of al-Hayajneh in the State Security Court was set to start on Thursday. Conviction could carry the death penalty.
Al-Hayajneh, a 42-year-old from the city of Irbid, worked in the print and photography department of the Royal Geographic Center when Israeli intelligence services recruited him in 1998 during joint Jordanian-Israeli aerial photography, according to the charge sheet.
The charges, prepared by military prosecutor Lt. Col. Fadel Al-Qalab, said the defendant confessed to providing his Israeli contact with details on Marka military airport, Amman international airport, Zarka military camps and other details, including the number of Palestinian refugee camps in the kingdom.
According to the charge sheet, al-Hayajneh requested in 2000 a one-year sabbatical leave to go to Saudi Arabia but instead traveled to Israel. Al-Qalab said that during al-Hayajneh's stay in Tel Aviv, he worked with a person named Abraham Kalila, who asked for information about Jordan's economy and agriculture, King Abdullah II and the center where the Jordanian worked.
Al-Hayajneh allegedly was assigned by Abraham, who was identified in the charge sheet as the northern head of the intelligence services with a rank of colonel in the military.
Before al-Hayajneh returned home, he and Abraham agreed on the means of contact. Abraham promised to obtain for the Jordanian Israeli citizenship and to bring him back to Israel with his wife and children, according to the charge sheet.
At the time of his arrest, authorities found in al-Hayajneh's possession Jordan's civil and military maps as well as military training manuals and other documents. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
