BEIRUT: The first officer charged with collaborating with Israel as part of a recent anti-espionage crackdown was sentenced Friday to 20 years hard labor.

The Military Tribunal, headed by Brigadier Nizar Khalil, sentenced Army Col. Mansour Diab to 20 years hard labor after finding him guilty of supplying Israel with documents and classified information about the army as well as military and civilian sites.

Diab, who was arrested in May 2009, was also found guilty of sending Israeli intelligence geographical coordinates and maps of military sites using a USB after encrypting them.

The charge added that during the July 2006 war, Diab received a telephone call from a Mossad officer asking him to remain at his post, which would not be targeted, and to take photographs of the military vehicles used by his regiment.

While Diab was in Cyprus, he also met with Mossad officers at the Israeli Embassy. Mobile phones he used to contact the Israelis were found in his homes in the Metn towns of Bsalim and Baabdat, the tribunal said.