The trial of a Jordanian man accused of spying for Israel resumed in Cairo on Monday.

Bashar Abu-Zaid, a communications engineer, allegedly planted communication networks in Egypt and used them to spy on Egyptian officials for Mossad in return for money.

He was arrested in January 2011, along with a Mossad (Israeli intelligence agency) official.

At a court session in December 2011, Abu-Zaid accused Egyptian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris of planning to kill him so "the truth would die with me." He did not clarify what he meant. 

It was reported earlier in 2011 that five officials from Mobinil were called by the state security court for questioning, including its former chairman Naguib Sawiris and CEO Eskandar Shalaby.

Mobinil became involved in the case when investigations revealed the company’s transmission towers in El-Oga in northern Sinai were used to pass Abu-Zaid’s phone calls to Israeli intelligence officials in Tel Aviv.

The court also questioned the transmission towers' security officers for allegedly allowing Abu-Zaid to install spying equipment to eavesdrop on calls between Egyptian officials.