Mohammed el-Attar
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Essam Ghoneim el-Attar (born 1970 in Cairo
, Egypt
) is a Canadian-Egyptian man accused and convicted of spying for Israel
.
On 20 April, 2007, el-Attar was found guilty of spying for Israel in an Egyptian courtroom. He was accused of being paid to spy on Egyptians and Arabs in Turkey and Canada. He allegedly recruited several new agents in Canada, targeting gays and those he knew were in financial trouble within Arab communities. He used his position at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
to identify potential recruits.
An interrogation transcript alleges that el-Attar told interrogators that he was a homosexual who married and divorced at least four times after arriving in Canada in 2002, and that he was paid $500 for each espionage report he filed on the Toronto Arab community. According to the transcript, el-Attar went to the Israeli embassy in Ankara
and asked for a job, and the Israelis advised him to convert to Christianity and introduced him to Catholic leaders in Turkey who schooled him in the religion. The transcript says that el-Attar cited his conversion to Christianity and the fact that he is gay, in applying to the United Nations for refugee status from Egypt. The UN refugee agency confirmed they relocated him to Canada.
According to his lawyer, el-Attar was directed to focus his efforts on Arabs whose native states bordered Israel — Syrians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Egyptians and Palestinians. The lawyer further said el-Attar flew to Cairo on 1 January, 2007 at the behest of his handlers who had asked him to make amends with his family. From there, he was supposed to travel to Israel. When arrested, el-Attar was in shock about the amount of information the Egyptian authorities had compiled and felt it was best to confess.
Later, el-Attar claimed he confessed only after days of torture. He said he was forced to drink his own urine, was given electric shocks, and that his family in Egypt was threatened.
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
) is a Canadian-Egyptian man accused and convicted of spying for Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
On 20 April, 2007, el-Attar was found guilty of spying for Israel in an Egyptian courtroom. He was accused of being paid to spy on Egyptians and Arabs in Turkey and Canada. He allegedly recruited several new agents in Canada, targeting gays and those he knew were in financial trouble within Arab communities. He used his position at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of Canada's chartered banks, fifth largest by deposits. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT....
to identify potential recruits.
An interrogation transcript alleges that el-Attar told interrogators that he was a homosexual who married and divorced at least four times after arriving in Canada in 2002, and that he was paid $500 for each espionage report he filed on the Toronto Arab community. According to the transcript, el-Attar went to the Israeli embassy in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
and asked for a job, and the Israelis advised him to convert to Christianity and introduced him to Catholic leaders in Turkey who schooled him in the religion. The transcript says that el-Attar cited his conversion to Christianity and the fact that he is gay, in applying to the United Nations for refugee status from Egypt. The UN refugee agency confirmed they relocated him to Canada.
According to his lawyer, el-Attar was directed to focus his efforts on Arabs whose native states bordered Israel — Syrians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Egyptians and Palestinians. The lawyer further said el-Attar flew to Cairo on 1 January, 2007 at the behest of his handlers who had asked him to make amends with his family. From there, he was supposed to travel to Israel. When arrested, el-Attar was in shock about the amount of information the Egyptian authorities had compiled and felt it was best to confess.
Later, el-Attar claimed he confessed only after days of torture. He said he was forced to drink his own urine, was given electric shocks, and that his family in Egypt was threatened.