An Arab-Israeli man once convicted by Egypt of spying for Israel says quiet diplomacy is now the best way to help a Canadian-Egyptian man convicted of the same crime.
"All the media hype around such cases that questions democracy and justice usually backfires because Arab leaders do not like to have their countries criticized in public," Azzam Azzam said Saturday about the case of Mohammed el-Attar.
"... This is a situation that can only be solved between the Canadian and Egyptian government. The only way that Canada can help Mohamed el-Attar is quietly, without bringing attention to the matter."
Azzam, convicted in 1996 and sentenced to 15 years, had been accused of encoding messages in women's underwear using invisible ink. He was released in 2004 as part of a prisoner swap.
El-Attar was convicted Saturday of spying for Israel and was sentenced to 15 years in prison by an Egyptian court. He was also fined about $2,000.
His most immediate hope for release would be a pardon by Eypt's President Hosni Mubarak, but that's considered unlikely. Committing espionage for Israel is considered by Egypt to be almost as serious as high treason.
The State Security Emergency Court convicted el-Attar of being a spy working for the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad. Prosecutors accused El-Attar, a former student at the Islamic Al-Azhar university in Cairo, of contacting Israeli agents in Turkey as well as spying on expatriate Arabs both in Turkey and in Canada.
El-Attar, 30, had first confessed to the crime, but then said he made the statement under torture by Egyptian intelligence services. He pleaded not guilty at trial.
Three other defendants, all Israelis, were charged in absentia on related charges.
Israel has categorically denied any involvement in the case.
Prosecutors said that el-Attar gave a detailed description of his role as a paid spy. In addition to the accusations of spying in Turkey and Canada, they claimed he also received instructions from the three Israelis -- said to be intelligence officers -- to recruit Christian Egyptian immigrants in Canada using money and sex.
In his alleged confession, el-Attar said he fled Egypt in 2001 and sought asylum with the United Nations in Turkey after being sentenced to three years in prison for writing a bad cheque.
Prosecutors say he converted to Christianity in Turkey and was then sent to Canada where he delivered his spy reports about Christian Egyptians. They claim el-Attar was paid $56,000 for the information he provided.
However, defence lawyer Ibrahim el-Basyuni says his client was never paid, never converted and his confession holds no value because it was made while el-Attar was being tortured.
Prosecutor Hani Hamoodah has insisted the defendant made the confession freely.
Judge Sayyed al-Gohary made the ruling in the trial that began Feb. 24 in Cairo. El-Attar was arrested on Jan. 1 as he returned from abroad to Egypt to visit family.
"He left Egypt to meet with the devil abroad, ignoring all national values and principles,'' al-Gohary said.
El-Basyuni called the verdict harsh.
"There was no proof or evidence, and from all the facts in the case, as I saw it, he should have been acquitted," he said.
"I'm shocked ... the media's involvement and the hype surrounding his case definitely had an impact on this trial," he added. "The judge is only human after all and it may have influenced his decision."
Canadian reaction
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement Saturday that the Canadian government remains "concerned about a number of aspects in this case.
"The allegations of mistreatment and torture made by Mr. Attar during his trial are of particular concern," MacKay said, adding that the issue has been raised repeatedly with Egyptian authorities.
MacKay noted that international law holds that evidence obtained through the use of torture can't be the basis of a conviction.
"We call upon Egypt to launch a prompt and impartial investigation into Mr. Attar's claims and to abide by the United Nations Convention Against Torture, to which it became party in 1986," he said.
With a report from CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer and files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
