Cairo: A Cairo court on Wednesday convicted 26 Egyptians and other Arab nationals of plotting terror attacks in Egypt and sentenced them to jail terms ranging from six months to life.
The convicts have vehemently denied the charges.
The State Security Court accused the defendants, including 18 Egyptians, five Palestinian, one Sudanese and two Lebanese citizens of collaborating with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah to "strike at Egypt's economy, destroy the bonds between its people and foment chaos and instability". Five defendants were sentenced in absentia.
The emergency tribunal sentenced three defendants, including the Lebanese fugitive Mohammad Qablan, to imprisonment for 25 years. Another Lebanese, Sami Chehab, was handed down a jail term of 15 years.
Last year Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah admitted that Chehab was a member of the group but denied he did anything wrong. He said at the time Chehab was only involved in helping equip Palestinians in their fight against Israel.
Lawyers for the defendants, branding the sentences as harsh, said that their clients did not violate Egyptian law and were seeking to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, besieged by Israel. "Does the support of the Palestinians require manufacturing and hoarding explosives in [Egypt's] northern Sinai?" asked Adel Abdul Salam Juma'a, the presiding judge of the court while pronouncing the rulings.
He said that investigations had proved that the group plotted attacks against Israeli tourists and ships sailing across the Suez Canal.
In April 2009, Egypt announced uncovering a group linked to Hezbollah planning to unleash terror attacks in the country, which was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Tension
The case heightened tensions between Egypt and Hezbollah, who in 2008 accused Cairo of collaborating with Israel in the latter's devastating war against Gaza.
Egypt, the only Arab state to share a border with Gaza, has said Nasrallah was trying to create chaos in the region to serve the interests of others, an apparent reference to Iran.
Cairo has long had strained relations with Tehran and the two countries do not have full diplomatic ties.
Nasrallah had said no more than 10 people had cooperated with Chehab, rather than the 26 Egypt accused.
Rights groups say Egypt has used "exceptional" courts like emergency and military courts to secure guilty verdicts.
