A British policeman was jailed for 2-1/2 years on Monday for working as a paid spy for an official at the Saudi Arabian embassy in London.
Ghazi Kassim admitted receiving corrupt payments from a Saudi diplomat who paid him to gather intelligence on Middle East expatriates in Britain, including the cleric Abu Hamza, London's Old Bailey court heard.
The court was told 14,000 pounds ($25,000) had been paid to Kassim, 53, and that he had used the British national police computer to run a check on Egyptian-born Hamza, who is now in jail in London under a US arrest warrant.
Other targets of his spying included a Saudi dissident who had sought political asylum in Britain, a high profile Sudanese family and a Saudi student, the court heard.
But many of his targets had no idea why the Saudi government was interested in them. "That is a recurring theme of this case," prosecuting lawyer Roger Smart told the court.
Kassim, who was born in Yemen, pleaded guilty to three charges of misconduct in public office by misusing his position to gain information about people of Middle Eastern origin for Saudi intelligence officer Dr Ali al-Shamarani in return for payment.
The court was told al-Shamarani, a third secretary at the embassy, flew out of Britain shortly before Kassim was arrested in July last year.
Judge Peter Rook told Kassim he had committed a "grave breach of trust" and branded him "greedy".
"What you did was wholly incompatible with your station as a police officer," he said. "Indeed your greed had the potential of putting people at risk."