Andrei Pashnichikov, who was arrested by Egypt in December of 2012 after he was caught taking photographs of security equipment, was released from an Egyptian jail and deported to Israel on Saturday, media reports said.
Pashnichikov was sentenced in February of 2013 to two years in prison. According to Haaretz, he crossed the border into Israel on Saturday evening and is currently being held by the Eilat police. He could face charges in Israel in the future.
Sources told Arutz Sheva shortly after his arrest in 2012 that Pashnichikov was identified with radical leftist and anarchist groups, and that he was headed to Gaza in order to assist Arab terrorists there to fight Israel.
Egypt has several times in the past arrested people and have charged them of spying for Israel. Last year, Egypt tried five alleged officers from Israel's Mossad spy agency and three Egyptians in absentia, on charges of spying for the Jewish state.
Egyptian prosecutors have accused the eight of espionage and supplying Israel with information impacting Egypt's national security.
Several weeks later, prosecutors in Egypt charged two Egyptian men with spying for Israel. In addition, they charged two alleged Israeli Mossad agents in absentia.
The prosecution named “Shmuel Ben-Zev” and “David Weisman” as Mossad agents who had spied against Egypt.
In June 2011, Egypt convicted U.S.-Israeli dual national Ilan Grapel of spying for Israel, but freed him four months later as part of an exchange that saw Israel release 25 Egyptians from its jails.