(Adds background, details, lawyer quote) CAIRO, July 26 (Reuters) - Egyptian prosecutors have referred 26 men suspected of links to Lebanon's Hezbollah to an emergency state security court, accusing some of planning to attack ships on the Suez canal and tourists in Egypt. A prosecution statement said some of the men had monitored shipping in the canal and tourist movements and had assisted Hezbollah operatives in making bombs. Some had gone abroad to train in Hezbollah camps, it added.Led by Hezbollah operatives Mohamed Qublan and Sami Chehab, they "conspired ... to carry out terrorist activities within Egypt", and to attack "vessels passing through the Suez Canal, foreign tourists and tourist establishments". The men were charged with terrorism and espionage-related offences, it said. The case highlights the worries of conservative Sunni states like Egypt and Saudi Arabia about the expanding influence of Shi'ite Iran and groups like Hezbollah, seen as Tehran's regional proxies. Hezbollah has described Sami Chehab as a member of the group who had been providing military supplies to Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, with the help of up to 10 others, and has denied targeting Egypt. Egypt's relations with Hezbollah have been strained since the group last year called Egypt a "partner in crime" with Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Egypt said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was trying to create chaos in the region to serve the interests of others, an apparent reference to Iran. Rights groups say Egypt has used "exceptional" courts like emergency and military courts to secure guilty verdicts and point to swift and often harsh sentences passed by the courts against Islamist militants in the 1990s. A lawyer representing some of the men told Reuters the referral to an exceptional court had been expected. "It's a very long line of accusations, and I imagine they will all be rebutted before the court, but of course the big problem is that they are being referred to an exceptional court ... which denies the accused the most basic legal protections," said Abdel Moniem Abdel Maqsoud. The prosecution said the men included Egyptians, Palestinians, Lebanese and Sudanese, and that four were not in custody. (Writing by Aziz El-Kaissouni; editing by Andrew Roche)
Protesters attend a demonstration on "Global Day of Solidarity with Iran" in Amsterdam July 25, 2009. REUTERS/Cris Toala Olivares (NETHERLANDS POLITICS CONFLICT) ...
