The Egyptian State Security Investigation Bureau is interrogating a number of Palestinians residing in Egypt on suspicions of forming a secret telecommunication network in Egypt to aid armed Islamic groups in Gaza. It remains unclear whether the suspects are linked to Hamas, Al-Qaeda, or other Palestinian groups.
The authorities had discovered the suspects, one of whom works for a private university in the city of 6 October, in August.
They were suspected with threatening national security by transferring international calls to a foreign state. They were also held to have illegally possessed eaves-dropping and closed circuit devices.
Their lawyer denied the claims.
Investigations have revealed that the defendants formed a network whereby callers’ phone numbers could not be identified despite the calls being made from Cairo and that they were able to use phone numbers of individuals without those individuals’ knowledge.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
