An Egyptian court on Wednesday convicted 26 men of spying for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and plotting attacks in Egypt. The convicted men were given prison sentences ranging from six months to life. Judge Adel Abdel Salam Gomaa of the emergency state security court said investigations had proved the group intended “to strike Egypt's economy, destroy the bonds between its people and create chaos and instability throughout the country”. The group – who included Lebanese, Palestinians, Egyptians and one Sudanese – were sentenced to jail terms from six months to life. Some were convicted in absentia. All of them were charged with planning attacks on tourists and shipping in the Suez Canal, and sending operatives and explosives to Gaza to aid militants there. The courtroom erupted with cries of shock at the sentences and chanting when the verdicts were pronounced. Defense attorney Montasser Zayat said three of the convicted received life sentences, which he said in Egyptian law was equivalent to 25 years. “This verdict is cruel and does not fit with the documents put forward,” Zayat said. The sentences cannot be appealed, he added, but President Hosni Mubarak can reduce them. The trial, which started in August 2009, is the first time Egypt has prosecuted alleged Hezbollah activists. In April of that year, Egyptian security officials said they had uncovered a Hezbollah cell plotting to destabilize the country. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has admitted to sending an agent to supervise weapons shipments to Hamas in Gaza, but he has denied seeking to undermine Egypt's security. At least three of the suspects were also charged with digging tunnels under Egypt's border with Gaza with the intention of smuggling people and goods. Others are charged with providing safehouses for militants smuggled across the border. This is also the first time Egypt has convicted people involved in the smuggling trade with Gaza.
