Hizbullah Cell Members Allege Torture in Egypt Jail, Next Hearing on Oct. 24
Men accused of plotting attacks in Egypt as members of a Hizbullah cell claimed they were tortured by police in custody ahead of their trial, which began in a Cairo court on Sunday.
The 22 alleged members of the cell, dressed in white as they stood in a cage behind the dock, denied the charges of "conspiracy to murder, spying for a foreign organization with intent of conducting terrorist attacks and weapons possession."
As some of the defendants made the torture allegations, one man shouted to the judge: "If you don”t believe us, just look at our bodies."
Four more accused are on the run and are being tried in absentia, including alleged Lebanese mastermind Mohammed Qabalan.
During the hearing one man shouted "We are at your command Nasrallah," in an apparent reference to Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who admitted in April that one of the defendants, Lebanese Mohammed Youssef Ahmed Mansour known as Sami Shehab, was a Hizbullah agent tasked with smuggling weapons to militants in the Gaza Strip.
Authorities began arresting members of what has become known as the "Hizbullah cell" in 2008, accusing them of plotting attacks against Israeli tourists and on ships in the Suez Canal.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 24.