June 22, 2011
Egypt’s investigation into alleged Israeli spy continues
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Ilan Grapel
Egypt has relaunched its investigation into a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen arrested in Egypt , and discovered that he is fluent in Arabic.
Ilan Grapel is being interrogated without the assistance of an interpreter, since he speaks Arabic fluently, the Egyptian newspaper al-Masri al-Youm reported Wednesday.
Grapel has faced his eighth interrogation since being arrested earlier this month at his hotel in central Cairo for allegedly spying on Egypt. Grapel is accused of being an Israeli Mossad agent. Egyptian security officials said he entered the country shortly after the start of the Jan. 25 uprising that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, during which Grapel allegedly posed as a foreign correspondent. A law student at Emory University, he also reportedly said that he was Muslim on his visa application filed with the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv and then entered Egypt using his American passport. Grapel is Jewish.
The investigation into Grapel was suspended after his first attorney resigned last week, but was relaunched on Tuesday.
Grapel spoke with his family for nearly an hour earlier this week, and reportedly told them that he was arrested legally and that he has not been harmed and is getting everything he needs.
