"Installed a camera on his bicycle and gathered intelligence": Another Arab man indicted for espionage
The State Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against Tarek Awida (53) from Jerusalem, who is accused of contact with a foreign agent over the course of about a year. According to the indictment, Awida installed a camera on his electric bicycle and documented sites in Jerusalem, including Jewish neighborhoods and locations of security forces, in exchange for payment. A request for detention until the end of proceedings has been submitted.
The State Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment today (Monday) at the Jerusalem District Court against Tarek Awida (53), a resident of Jerusalem, for contact with a foreign agent. According to the indictment, over the course of about a year, Awida maintained contact with a person acting on behalf of a foreign state or terrorist organization. The contact began when Awida sought to join a Telegram group called "The Resistance," where the agent operated. The two corresponded approximately once every two weeks. The agent asked Awida to photograph various locations in Jerusalem for money, including Jewish residential neighborhoods and positions of security and police forces. At the agent's request, Awida downloaded an encrypted application onto his phone. Subsequently, Awida installed a camera on his electric bicycle and documented various sites in the capital city. Awida noted that he was in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. On another occasion, he agreed to photograph a mosque but did not carry out the task. A few days before his arrest, the agent contacted him again requesting photographs in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but Awida did not respond. The prosecution is asking the court to order his detention until the end of proceedings.