Israeli former minister sentenced to 11 years in prison for spying for Iran

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-26 19:04:45|Editor: Xiaoxia
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MIDEAST-JERUSALEM-CONEN SEGEV-SPY CHARGE 

Gonen Segev is escorted by prison guards as he arrives at court in Jerusalem, on Feb. 26, 2019. Segev, a former parliament member with the right-wing party of Tzomet, once served as Israel's minister of energy and infrastructure. An Israeli court sentenced on Tuesday the former minister to 11 years in prison after finding him guilty of spying on behalf of Iran. (Xinhua/JINI)

JERUSALEM, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli court sent on Tuesday a former minister to 11 years in prison after finding him guilty of spying on behalf of Iran.

The Jerusalem District Court approved the sentence on Gonen Segev amidst a plea deal signed between Segev and the State Attorney's office.

In the deal signed in January, Segev admitted having committed "serious espionage" and "providing information to the enemy."

The Jerusalem branch of the State Attorney's office issued a statement following the court decision, saying Segev, according to his own admission, had been in contact with the Iranian intelligence for five years. "He was in constant contact with his operators through a secret, coded system and met them in Iran and various countries around the globe."

Last May, Segev was extradited from Equatorial Guinea and arrested in Israel.

Segev, 62, a former parliament member with the right-wing party of Tzomet, once served as Israel's minister of energy and infrastructure.

After his political career, he turned to business. In 2004, he was arrested for attempting to smuggle thousands of ecstasy pills from Amsterdam to Israel. He admitted guilty amidst a plea bargain and served five years in prison.

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