Snoshi
04-21-2009, 09:04 AM
Egypt has accused Lebanese officials of providing Hezbollah operatives with false documents that they approved with official stamps, the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat on Tuesday quoted Egyptian sources as saying.
The sources said that Egypt plans raise the matter officially with Lebanon, the paper reported, in order to "solve mysteries."
Egypt announced two weeks ago that they had arrested a group of Hezbollah operatives on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks on its soil.
According to Al-Hayat, the Egyptian sources claimed that Lebanese officials gave the Hezbollah cell's leader, Mohammed Youssef Mansour,
a fake passport under the name of Sami Shihab, an alias.
The passport bore the official Lebanese stamp and had been issued in a proper manner, the officials said.
In addition, Mansour's brother signed his brother's lawyer power of attorney as "Walid Shaihab," even though that too is a false name.
The power of attorney was signed by a Lebanese notary and officially stamped by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, as well as also being signed by the Egyptian embassy in Beirut.
Egyptian sources believe that "official Lebanese institutions or officials cooperated with Hezbollah in preparing official documents which were officially processed, despite the fact that they included false code names."
Mansour's lawyer said that he was not shown the papers and that he is "not in charge of validating the authenticity of the documents.
On Sunday, Al Hayyat reported that Egyptian prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for Mansour, whose investigation had concluded. He is expected to be brought up on espionage charges that carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment with hard labor.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079918.html
The sources said that Egypt plans raise the matter officially with Lebanon, the paper reported, in order to "solve mysteries."
Egypt announced two weeks ago that they had arrested a group of Hezbollah operatives on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks on its soil.
According to Al-Hayat, the Egyptian sources claimed that Lebanese officials gave the Hezbollah cell's leader, Mohammed Youssef Mansour,
a fake passport under the name of Sami Shihab, an alias.
The passport bore the official Lebanese stamp and had been issued in a proper manner, the officials said.
In addition, Mansour's brother signed his brother's lawyer power of attorney as "Walid Shaihab," even though that too is a false name.
The power of attorney was signed by a Lebanese notary and officially stamped by the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, as well as also being signed by the Egyptian embassy in Beirut.
Egyptian sources believe that "official Lebanese institutions or officials cooperated with Hezbollah in preparing official documents which were officially processed, despite the fact that they included false code names."
Mansour's lawyer said that he was not shown the papers and that he is "not in charge of validating the authenticity of the documents.
On Sunday, Al Hayyat reported that Egyptian prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for Mansour, whose investigation had concluded. He is expected to be brought up on espionage charges that carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment with hard labor.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079918.html