Trial of suspected Hezbollah cell resumes in Egypt

The trial of 26 men accused of plotting attacks against Egypt and spying on behalf of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah resumed on Wednesday, officials in Egypt's Ministry of Interior said.

The case has highlighted tensions between predominantly Sunni Egypt, Hezbollah and its patrons in Iran and Syria.

Two Lebanese nationals, five Palestinians, a Sudanese man and 18 Egyptians are on trial. The charges against them include planning attacks against tourists and the Suez Canal, possessing explosives and passing information to a foreign organization. Not all the defendants face the same charges.

When Egypt announced the suspects had been arrested in April, President Hosni Mubarak and Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah traded televised barbs. Egypt summoned the head of the Iranian interests section in Cairo to register a formal complaint after Iranian politicians mocked the allegations.

Prosecutors said the ring was led by Lebanese national Sami Shehab, also known as Mohammed Youssef, whom Nasrallah has admitted is a member of the radical group sent to Egypt to deliver "logistical aid" to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Nasrallah vehemently denied that Shehab or Hezbollah were plotting attacks against Egypt.

The trial had been due to start in August, but was adjourned twice at the request of defence lawyers.

Under Egypt's Emergency Law, the verdicts of the Emergency State Security Court may not be appealed. Only the president may order a retrial or change the verdicts.

Egypt's public prosecutor in April said he had received "certain information" from Egypt's domestic intelligence service that a Hezbollah cell had rented apartments overlooking the Suez Canal in order to spy on traffic through the waterway.

He also accused the group of spying on resorts in Sinai and of renting rooms in fashionable districts where Hezbollah agents held training workshops.