Six people accused of spying for Israel, including a diplomat at the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv, will stand trial on espionage charges next month, according to judicial officials Thursday.
The six were accused of exchanging unspecified information for money and, while operating under the cover of a travel agency, sneaking Chinese, Russian and Maldives nationals into Israel, the official said, requesting anonymity.
With few details provided, judicial officials said word of the arrests had been withheld to ensure no one else in the diplomatic mission in Israel was involved.
Some of the six were arrested four months ago and all were in custody in the Egyptian town of al-Arish, in the northeastern Sinai near Israel.
The leader of the group was believed to be Nagla'a Ibrahim, a 35-year old retired women's handball player, whose arrest was announced earlier this week.
Arrests of Issam el-Sawi, a prominent businessman in the tourism industry, and two other men identified only by their first names - Goma'a and Yasser - were announced on Wednesday. The names of the diplomat and a Bedouin allegedly involved also arrested weren't known, according to AP.
Meanwhile, an Israeli Defense Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday she was unaware of the incident.
The trial in a state security court was to open on December 17th in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. Spying can be punishable by execution if the court deems the actions harmed the nation, though a wave of recent sentences have been for 10 to 15 years in jail at hard labor. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
