Emory Student Ilan Grapel Charged With Being Spy In Egypt

ATLANTA -- An Emory law student is charged with being a spy in Egypt.

Police arrested Ilan Grapel on Sunday.

His Emory classmates call the charges bogus, and the Israeli foreign minister says Grapel is not a spy.

Grapel’s mother spoke to our ABC partner in New York.

On the phone, she told Channel 2’s Diana Davis her nerves are shot and that the arrest of her 27-year-old son on espionage charges is taking a physical toll on her. She said there is no way her son is a spy.

"He is not a Mossad spy by any means, no stretch of the imagination. You can’t be a student of law in the United States and have time to do other stuff like that. I don’t know why they would think that he’s a spy ‘cause he’s not, said Irene Grapel.

Wounded: Ilan Grapel, right, visited by friends in hospital after he was injured fighting for the Israeli Army in Lebanon in 2006

Spy? Egyptian newspapers splash pictures of Grapel on their front pages

Egyptian authorities arrested Grapel Sunday at a Cairo hotel. Bo in the U.S., Grapel has served in the Israeli military.

The Egyptians say he’s an officer for Mossad, the Israeli version of the CIA.

He’s charged with trying to sabotage the Egyptian revolution.

But Grapel's mother said her son wasn't in Egypt during the February uprising. His classmates said he was on the Emory campus, regularly attending his law school classes.

His mother said Grapel arrived in Egypt last month to work for a legal aid group there.

”He has not been there. He only arrived May 10 to do his job. He had maybe a week or two before that. He loves speaking Arabic. He loves the culture. He loves being around those people. But he’s not a spy, said Irene Grapel.

Daneil Grapel, Ilan’s father, said he son went to Egypt only as a law student to get credit for his work there doing legal aid.

Irene Grapel said she talked to her son by phone Monday. He told her he is in good health and not being mistreated, she said.

Grapel will be a third-year Emory law student in the fall. He is due to graduate in May.

Davis contacted the Israel Consulate in Atlanta. They said they would not comment on Grapel’s arrest, calling the situation ”too sensitive.