An Irishman accused of spying on behalf of Israel has been sentenced to life imprisonment by an Egyptian court.
The man and a Japanese national were both sentenced in their absence while an Egyptian nuclear engineer was sentenced in court today.
Egyptian engineer Mohammed Sayed Saber was charged with giving stolen documents to Mossad (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Mohammed Sayed Saber (35) an employee with Egypt's atomic agency, was charged with harming the country's national security by giving stolen documents to Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, in exchange for $17,000.
The Japanese and Irishman were also convicted of spying and received life imprisonment. Israel has dismissed allegations that Saber was working for Mossad.
The defendant appeared in a white prison jumpsuit, smiling and flashing a victory sign to the media, which crammed into the Cairo courtroom. After hearing the verdict, Saber remained calm, but his mother and wife burst into tears. The court session lasted less than five minutes.
Heavy security forces were deployed inside and outside the courtroom, and dozens surrounded the wife and mother to block the media from speaking to them. Saber was arrested on February 18th after he returned to Egypt from Hong Kong, where the prosecution has said he used to meet agents working for Israel.
During the first court session, Saber stunned the judge by praising Israel's advanced technology and claimed he handed over outdated documents that posed no threat to Egyptian security. Saber claimed that just before his arrest in February, he informed the Egyptian Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, of his actions.
He had been in Saudi Arabia since 2000 on a sabbatical from the atomic agency.
AP