CAIRO: Egyptian spy turned hero, Ahmed al-Hawan, passed away in Cairo early Tuesday morning after succumbing to a long battle with illness. Al-Hawan was 74. Al-Hawan, also known as Gumaa al-Shawan, became famous for infiltrating the Israeli intelligence branch, Mossad, between 1967 and 1973. While a double agent in Mossad, al-Hawan was able to provide Egyptian intelligence with valuable information concerning a state-of-the-art transmission technology only known to the Israelis and Americans at the time. More recently, al-Hawan is noted for being critical of the former Hosni Mubarak regime because he felt was not receiving adequate compensation and medical treatment. The former Egyptian spy finally received proper medical care under the orders of Egyptian Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi following the ousting of Mubarak. Al-Hawan's story was portrayed in a dramatic television series during the late-1970's. It was with this series that he acquired the moniker “Gumaa al-Shawan. BM
