Egypt discovers two spies for the Mossad
Egypt-Israel, Politics, 11/29/2000

The Egyptian authorities revealed on Tuesday that two spies, one Egyptian and one Russian, working for the Israeli intelligence system Mossad in the first case of its kind since the detention of the Israeli spy Azzam Azzam. A matter which might raise a tension in the Egyptian- Israeli relations after the Egyptian ambassador was called upon from Tel Aviv one week earlier.

While a state of hatred is prevailing the Egyptian street towards Israel amid the bloody attacks against the Palestinians, the case of these two spies is expected to intensify the situation, especially as they were collecting information relate directly to Egypt's economic and military interests. Israel, on the other hand, totally denied links to the case of spying on its peace partner since 1979 in the peace agreement.

The Egyptian Attorney general Maher Abdul Wahed had brought before the state security court each of the Egyptian Sharif Fawzi al-Filali ( 34) under charges of spying for the interests of Israel and he also charged in absentia his Russian partner Gregory Jevins who is outside the Egyptian territories in the case which the Egyptian intelligence said it had informed the state security on September 27.

The Middle East News Agency said that al-Filali, an engineer had the charge of contacting a foreign country with the aim of damaging his country's national interests. The agency added that this state is Israel which used to receive information on the political, economic and military conditions. The Agency did not indicate when he will be questioned before the court or the place of the Russian.

The Egyptian engineer admitted during interrogations that he was in charge of collecting information about the armament of the Egyptian army, the Toushki agricultural project to the southern part of the country and about tourism in Egypt, as learnt from sources close to the state's security court.

Al-Filali gave information for his Russian counterpart whom he recruited in the Mossad relating to tourism activities especially in Sinai, al-Ghardaqa and Mursi Alam and number of tourism groups and areas to be opened before investors.

The chairman of the state's security court Hisham Badawi told journalists that the Egyptian intelligence told the state security in September that a Russian agent for the Israeli Mossad had recruited al-Filali and introduced him two members of the Israeli Mossad officers. He said that al-Filali was trained on spying and collecting information storing them in special systems.

Badawi added that al-Filali was asked to " photo certain military areas in the country and to submit a report on the development of the Egyptian weapons and gathering tourism, agricultural and industrial information." He explained that this includes detailed information about Toshki giant project on desert lands reclamation and irrigation in southern Egypt.

The Attorney department said that al-Filali was seized in his house in " new Egypt" quarter and instruments for storing information and exchanging them was found with him containing military and political information.

While he was interrogated, al-Filali received a message from the agent of the Israeli Mossad saying: " what happened to you. No news from you. Hopefully nothing wrong has happened. Please contact me as soon as possible." Al-Filali noted that al-Filali told the attorney general that after he completed his university study at Cairo university in 1990 he traveled to Germany where he met with a German Jewish woman called Ereina. He added she introduced al-Filali to the chairman of the Middle east department at a Spanish company who asked him to learn Hebrew so as to enable him to work in a company in Israel. Badawi did not mention the name of the Spanish company nor the name of the chairman of the Middle east department in it.

He added that Ereina introduced al-Filali who traveled to Spain to Jeveins as a weapon trader. Badwai continued that al-Filali admitted that he had written detailed reports about Toshki project and that he had received huge sums and that Jeveins introduced him to two army officers in the Mossad who taught him the art of spying and photographing military positions, and the al-Filali traveled to many European countries to meet with Mossad agents.

The Israeli embassy in Cairo said it has no information about this case, but the office of the Israeli prime Minister Ehud Barak in occupied Jerusalem denied this spying case to have links to Israel.

A statement released by Barak's office said that " Israel strongly denies any role for it in the claimed spying incident whose news are rumored in Egypt and asserts that it has no links to the two men nor the details stated in the case." In 1997m an Egyptian court sentenced the Israeli Azzam Azzam of 15 year imprisonment after he was convicted of spying for Israel, which has asked for his release. A matter which the Egyptian President has refused repeatedly.

Previous Stories:
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