An Egyptian court on Tuesday adjourned the trial of a Jordanian citizen accused of spying for Israel to 2 January.
Egyptian security forces arrested telecommunications engineer Bashar Ibrahim Abu Zeid in March. He is alleged to have entered Egypt after the 25 January uprising to work as an agent for Mossad, Israel's spy service, under cover of setting up a telecommunications business in Egypt.
Judicial sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Tuesday that the Judge Makram Mohamed Awad, who had been assigned to the case, did not attend the hearing due to his participation in the supervision of electoral commissions, and that another judge was assigned to the Abu Zeid trial in his place.
Witnesses said Abu Zeid became animated during the Tuesday hearing, shouting, “Nothing has changed in Egypt … Injustice is the same as ever!” The witnesses also recalled him saying, "They have refused to allow me to meet with a lawyer or summon witnesses."
Another man, Ofer Herari, is accused of being responsible for overseeing Abu Zeid's activities in Egypt. He is to be tried in absentia, having already fled Egypt.
According to Egyptian intelligence services, Abu Zeid and Herari agreed to intercept international calls coming into Egypt and to transfer them to Israel, allowing Israeli security services to eavesdrop on calls of relevance to Egypt's national security.
Investigators also claim that Herari charged Abu Zeid with searching for Egyptian intelligence agents working in the telecommunications field and offering them his services, offering to sell them Israeli-made call transfer equipment for the benefit of Israeli intelligence.
Abu Zeid was also charged with collecting data on certain employees working in the telecommunications field in Egypt, especially those working at Egyptian mobile operators and who traveled abroad for work, aiming to recruit suitable candidates to work for Mossad.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
