David Ovitz, an Israeli furniture importer arrested in Egypt, will be released and sent home shortly, his family was assured Wednesday by the Israeli ambassador in Cairo, Ephraim Dubek.
The Egyptian authorities informed Israel officially of Ovitz’s arrest Monday. They mentioned no charges against him.
Ovitz was questioned, however, about his connections with a family of Israeli Arabs arrested earlier in Cairo, allegedly on charges of spying. Farres Mussarti, 41, of Ramla, his 21-year-old son, Majed, and daughter Faya, 17, have been in custody for more than two weeks.
But sensational stories in the Egyptian press that Farres had confessed to spying for Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, were disavowed by the Egyptian interior minister, Abdul Halim Mussa.
It appears now that the family will face no more serious charges than using forged travel documents and overstaying their tourist visas.
Cairo investigators also seem to have accepted Ovitz’s claim that his sole connection with Farres Mussarti was in the line of business.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
