Ilan Chaim Grapel in army uniform
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has turned down calls from the US to release Ilan Chaim Grapel, an Israeli-American who is accused of spying for the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad.
SCAF vice president Sami Anan said the ruling military council would not intervene with the Judicial system.
Furthermore, it was reported that US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called on his Egyptian counterpart Hussein Tantawi, also de-facto president, to release Grapel, saying his detention will take a toll on Egypt’s bilateral relation with the US.
Grapel was captured on 12 June by Egyptian security forces in a well-known hotel in downtown Cairo.
He reportedly possessed a laptop and three cell phones allegedly containing "top-secret information" that could be politically harmful for Egypt in the wrong hands, say the Egyptian authorities.
According to these investigation authorities, Grapel allegedly sought to inflame the feelings of demonstrators, encouraging them to clash with military forces and stir up chaos during the January 25 Revolution.
Many Egyptian bloggers and social networks reacted critically and with sarcasm to the authorities' charges against the alleged spy. These allegations, critics say, are tantamount to a grave insult to the Egyptian people and revolution, which are portrayed as being so gullible as to be swayed by a single Israeli spy.
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