Israeli-American Ilan Garpel to be held for another 15 days on espionage charges
Roee Nahmias
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Egyptian prosecutors decided Saturday to extend the remand of Israeli-American Ilan Garpel by another 15 days, according to a report on official Egyptian newspaper al-Aharam's website.
According to the latest report, prosecutors accuse Garpel of espionage aimed at undermining Egypt's economic and political interests, based on information received from the country's general intelligence service.
Last time Garpel's remand was extended, officials said his detention was needed in order to continue the probe.
'Fluent in Arabic'
Meanwhile, media outlets in Egypt continued to provide far-fetched stories about the "Mossad spy." Last month, Egyptian newspaper al-Masri al-Yaum reported that Garpel is fluent in Arabic and that his interrogators did not require the services of a translator.A legal source told the newspaper that Garpel stayed in Cairo's Tahrir Square throughout his time in Egypt, especially on days of protest. The Israeli-American citizen was said to have met with many "revolution youngsters" and with Egyptian journalists and asked them to help him cover the events at the site.
Garpel moved to Israel from the United States and served as a paratrooper after joining the IDF in 2005. He was wounded in the Second Lebanon War. As he entered Egypt using his American passport, the US State Department is handling the affair vis-à-vis Egypt in an effort to secure his release.
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