Zeev Bigeleisen, an Israeli citizen who defected to Egypt last year, was today sentenced to six years in prison by the District Court here. He was convicted of having crossed into Egypt illegally and having given security information to the enemy.
Although his offenses were punishable by life imprisonment, he was shown leniency by the court because of his mental condition and his voluntary return to Israel from Belgium where he had been sent by the Egyptians. According to the court, Bigeleisen had cooperated with the Israeli security authorities who had questioned him.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
