Associated Press
CAIRO: A witness testifying in the trial of an Egyptian nuclear engineer charged with spying for Israel said Sunday that the accused obtained documents which were potentially harmful to Egypt illegally and passed them on to Israeli intelligence.
Ali Islam, head of Egypt s atomic agency, said the engineer stole confidential reports from the agency and gave them to the Israeli Mossad in an act that could harm the supreme interests for the nation, politically and economically, the state Mena news agency reported.
Egypt has charged Mohammed Sayed Saber, 35, a nuclear engineer who used to work for the atomic agency, of stealing classified documents and handing them over to Israel for $17,000.
Islam testified that Saber illegally obtained the documents from his department, kept them for 10 years although they were confidential and classified documents that [Saber] is not allowed to keep in his possession or travel with. Saber s trial started in April. During a session in May, Saber stunned the court by praising Israel for its advanced technology and claimed the documents he passed on were so outdated they posed no threat to Egyptian security.
Islam added that Saber tried in 1999 to meddle in the running of an Egyptian nuclear reactor, after which he was transferred to another department before he could cause serious damage to the plant.
On Sunday, Saber was given a chance to speak again in court. He said that his actions in 1999 were a mistake … with a good intention, Mena reported.
The trial adjourned till June 11.
Saber was arrested Feb. 18 after returning to Egypt from Hong Kong, were the prosecution said he used to meet with agents working for Israel. One Japanese, and one Irish national, are also wanted in the case and are being tried in absentia.
Israel has dismissed allegations of Saber working for Mossad.
Adel Aziz, one of Saber s lawyers described the witness testimony Sunday as silly, adding that the documents were given to his client by the nuclear agency and that he did not steal anything.
If convicted, Saber could face up to 25 years in jail on espionage charges.
Egypt was the first Arab country to sign peace treaty with Israel in 1979, but relations have always remained cool at best, and normalization is frowned upon. Egypt has announced several spying cases since then, latest of which an Egyptian-Canadian man was convicted to 15 years for espionage for Israel last month.
