CAIRO: The trial of a Jordanian and Israeli accused of spying for the Jewish state is to begin on October 2 in Cairo, the state-run MENA news agency reported on Tuesday. Detained Jordanian national Bashar Abou Zeid, a telecommunications officer and Ofer Herari, an escaped Mossad officer will be tried at the High Emergency State Security Criminal Court for espionage. Herari is accused of training and guiding Abou Zeid in his espionage mission in Egypt. He currently has not been arrested and would be tried in absentia. According to the public prosecutors' investigations, the two accused men were working on diverting calls from Egypt and re-routing them to Israel's intelligence body, Mossad. The Jordanian national was arrested last April and has been under investigation after he was monitored by the Egyptian intelligence. The investigation alleges they found evidence that the Jordanian was also trying to recruit Egyptians working in the telecommunications sector and offered them his services along with trying to sell them Israeli made IT devices, made for spying. The prosecutor has seized packages sent by the Jordanian engineer abroad that includes children toys with some 300 SIM cards hidden inside as well as flash memory cards with information. The Jordanian man was also allegedly collecting information for Israel regarding the January 25 revolution that toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The Jordanian defendant pleaded guilty to the charges against him and he could face life in prison. BM
