An Israeli lawyer is appealing to President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to grant clemency to an Israeli, Yosef Tahan, who was sentenced to death in Cairo last year for allegedly smuggling drugs into Egypt.
Tahan’s attorney, Zvi Lidsky, said he would hand the appeal over to the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv Sunday and go to Cairo himself if necessary to try to see Mubarak. He said his appeal is based on humanitarian grounds. Tahan, a resident of Ashdod, is the father of four children. A letter from them will accompany the appeal.
According to reports from Cairo, Mubarak is not expected to approve Tahan’s execution nor will he grant a pardon. This could leave the man is prison for years with the death penalty hanging over him. Tahan was arrested at the Cairo airport in August 1985 with 1.35 kilos of heroin. He was on his way home to Israel from India.
At his trial, he said he intended to market the drugs in Israel.
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