http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/996/fr3.htm
29 April - 5 May 2010 Issue No. 996 Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 Guilty as charged -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE SUPREME State Security Court in Cairo yesterday convicted 26 men of plotting attacks in Egypt, and of having ties with the Lebanon-based group Hizbullah. Four of the indicted were given life sentences, while two were given 15-year prison sentences, and 15 received 10-year prison sentences. The rest were given between six and seven-month prison terms. Four of the defendants were tried in absentia while the rest appeared in the dock, shouting "God is great" after hearing the final verdict in a trial that began almost a year earlier. The defendants -- including two Lebanese, five Palestinians, one Sudanese and 18 Egyptians -- were found guilty of "collecting intelligence for the interest of a foreign entity, possessing explosive material, spying and plotting against interests in the Suez Canal, digging smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza, and planning attacks against Israelis and against resorts popular with them." They were arrested in November 2008. No higher appeal is possible for the case, with the only possibility or recourse being a presidential pardon. The court declared its verdict amid tight security measures. photo: AFP [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
