Egypt - Court Sentences Israeli To 2 Years Jail

Egypt - An Egyptian court sentenced Israeli citizen Andrei Pshenichnikov to two years in prison on Monday after he infiltrated into the Sinai peninsula some two months ago, Israeli media reported.

Psheenichnikov, 24, from Bat Yam, was originally ordered to be deported to Israel, but an Egyptian judge overturned the ruling.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed in late December that Pshenichnikov was detained upon arrival to the country, and said that it was making efforts to find out more details.

Pshenichnikov’s mother told Army Radio that her son got a visa to enter Egypt, and was scheduled to meet friends from France in Cairo.

The man was reportedly a left-wing activist, who lived in the Palestinian territories and previously was denied a request for Palestinian citizenship.

He was not carrying a passport when he entered Sinai and his name was not on tourist arrival lists, according to the official Egyptian MENA news agency.

Egyptian state television earlier reported the arrested man was a former army officer named Andre Yacoub and had entered Egypt illegally.