Report: Israel sentences man to 14 years for spying for Syria
Syrian media reports Sudki al-Maqat—who previously served 27 years for espionage—is sentenced to 14 years after being convicted of providing intelligence information to Syria on IDF activities near the northern border.
Syrian media reported Tuesday that a man from a Druze town in the Golan Heights has been sentenced to 14 years in prison by the Nazareth District Court for supplying information about the IDF to Syrian intelligence forces.
According to the reports, Sudki al-Maqat from Majdal Shams, was convicted of cooperating with a foreign agent and transferring information to the Syrian regime.
Al-Maqat, 50, had already spent 27 years in prison for spying for Syria prior to this latest conviction. He was released in August 2012 and resumed his activities shortly after his release.
According to information contained in his indictment, it appears that al-Maqat documented IDF activity on the Israeli-Syrian border and transferred the information to the Syrians by uploading it to various media outlets on the internet and Facebook.
Al-Maqat was charged with espionage, assistance to the enemy during wartime, support of a terrorist organization, contact with a foreign agent and a host of other security offenses. He was arrested in February 2015 and the indictment was filed three months later. Al-Maqat's lawyer, Kamil Faraj, said they are considering appealing the verdict.
SANA, a Syrian news agency, reported that al-Maqat sent a letter from prison, claiming that the "malicious verdict awaiting me is meant to silence, punish and prevent me from exposing the truth about the support the Israeli occupation authorities provide terrorist gangs and criminals in Syria."
(Translated and edited by Fred Goldberg)
