Egypt: Life in jail for Hizbullah men

Marks 1st time country has prosecuted members of the guerrilla group.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hizbullah members behind bars 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Hizbullah members behind bars 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
An Egyptian court on Wednesday convicted 26 men of spying for Hizbullah and plotting attacks in Egypt, and gave them prison sentences ranging from six months to life.
Three of the defendants, including the group's Lebanese leader, Mohammad Qiblan, were convicted in abstenia and received life sentences. The rest of the group — including Egyptians, a Sudanese, West Bank Palestinians and Lebanese nationals — was handed sentences ranging from six months and 15 years.
The verdict cannot be appealed.
The group was charged with planning attacks on tourists and shipping in the Suez Canal, and sending operatives and explosives to Gaza to aid terrorists there.
The courtroom erupted with cries of shock at the sentences and chanting when Judge Adel Abdelsalam Gomaa pronounced the verdicts at Cairo's emergency court.
The trial, which started in August 2009, is the first time Egypt has prosecuted Hizbullah members. In April of that year, Egyptian security officials said they had uncovered a Hizbullah cell plotting to destabilize the country.
Hizbullah 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 terrorists smuggled across the border.
It also marks the first time Egypt has convicted people involved in the smuggling trade with Gaza.