An Egyptian court has upheld the detention of Khalid Lutfi, the owner of the Tanmia Bookshop in Cairo, for five years on charges of revealing military secrets and spreading rumours after distributing “The Angel” book by Israeli author Uri Bar-Joseph, Lebanese news agency Al-Akhbar reports.

The workers of the Tanmia Bookshop reported that Lutfi was arrested in April 2018 after he agreed to publish an Egyptian edition of the controversial book in cooperation with the original Lebanonese publisher.

The book “The Angel: The Egyptian spy who saved Israel” was written by Uri Bar-Joseph, a former intelligence analyst in the Israeli army. It presents the Israeli narrative about Egyptian businessman Ashraf Marwan (the son-in-law of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser).

READ: 52 Egyptians executed on political charges, 50 more await death

Bar-Joseph claimed in his book that Marwan was a spy for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and supplied Israel with strategic information regarding the Egyptian military during the 1973 war. This, he said, saved the lives of thousands of Israeli soldiers.

Egyptian officials deny that Marwan was a spy, and an official funeral was held for him in Cairo in June 2007 with senior officials in attendance. His body was wrapped in the Egyptian flag.

READ: Was Ashraf Marwan an Israeli angel or an Egyptian prodigy?