EGYPT CONVICTS CANADIAN OF SPYING FOR ISRAEL

Egyptian-Canadian man jailed for spying for Israel
CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court convicted an Egyptian-Canadian dual citizen on Saturday of spying for Israel and sentenced him to 15 years in prison, saying he had been "seduced by Satan" into selling out his country.

Three Israelis, said to be Mossad agents and tried in absentia, were also found guilty in the case and given 15-year jail terms. Israel has dismissed the case as a fabrication.

Egyptian trials of suspected spies for the Jewish state have often soured relations between Israel and Egypt, which in 1979 became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel.

Egyptian prosecutors said Mohamed Essam Ghoneim al-Attar, 31, was recruited by Israel in 2001 while living in Turkey.

They said intelligence agents helped him get a Canadian residency permit under a fake name and found him work in a bank to help him spy on Egyptians and other Arabs.

The court said in its ruling: "He let himself be seduced by Satan, disregarding his country's values and selling himself and his country to the devil."

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev said: "Israel has no involvement in this matter whatsoever. It is a pity that there has been a recurrence of these trials which are not based on fact."

Attar was arrested in January at the Cairo airport when he returned to Egypt for a family visit. He was accused of spying in both Turkey and Canada and of using his job in a bank to get information on specific accounts.

There can be no appeal against the verdict of the emergency security court. Only President Hosni Mubarak can overturn the conviction.

Canadian consular officials attended the trial and an embassy spokeswoman said her country was reviewing the verdict.