Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) is charging Egyptian attorney Mamdouh Ismail of heading what is known as the “Egyptian Project” of Al-Qaeda.

The SSSP claims Ismail, an attorney working with Islamic movements in Egypt, was the connecting link between Al-Qaeda leadership and the organization’s leaders in Yemen, Algeria and Iraq. The charge sheet also said Ismail transferred messages from Muhammad Khalil Al-Hakaima, an Al-Qaeda leader in Egypt, who escaped the country, to his associates who remained behind.

“Project Egypt” perpetrated a number of terror attacks inside Egypt, the SSSP claimed. Ismail, for his part, has rejected all the accusations. He said he signed an initiative in 1997, which called to cease violence in Egypt.

Ismail has served as defense attorney to many Islamists who have been charged with terrorism. He also tried – unsuccessfully – to establish a political party called “The Party of Islamic Law.”