After a week in custody, it seemed clear that Magdi El-Nashar had nothing to do with the London attacks. Jailan Halawi looks into the infamous Egyptian chemist's week Thirty-three-year-old Magdi El-Nashar has been cleared by Egyptian authorities of having any links with the 7 July London bombings that killed 56 people. El-Nashar -- who has been at the centre of much-publicised investigations since last Thursday -- remained in custody late Wednesday, until the paper went to press. While authorities in the UK did not formally name the Egyptian chemist a "suspect", his name surfaced as part of investigations into the identities of three of the alleged bombers. A link was made between one of them, 18-year-old Hasib Hussain from Leeds, and El-Nashar, who obtained his PhD in biochemistry from Leeds University. Even though El-Nashar admitted to having known Husain, a British-Pakistani, the chemist insisted that he had no role whatsoever in the attacks. By then, however, he had already become something of a household name worldwide, and especially in three of the places where he had lived: North Carolina in the United States; Leeds in the UK; and the Bassatin area of Cairo where he grew up. In Bassatin, his neighbours expressed their disbelief that such "an intelligent, well-educated and refined scholar" could be the subject of suspicion. Many of his neighbours interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly opined that El-Nashar must have been mistakenly arrested. Reportedly, El-Nashar told investigators that he had met Husain, whose name appeared in El-Nashar's personal organiser, at a mosque and helped him to rent an apartment in Leeds that belonged to an Iraqi doctor. Further, El-Nashar denied having visited Husain in his flat -- where the British police say they found traces of ingredients used in manufacturing explosives similar to those used in the attacks -- and challenged any evidence of his involvement or knowledge of the blasts. El-Nashar also denounced the attacks, and explained that he had returned to Egypt on 30 June for a holiday, and was planning to go back to Britain following his release to resume his studies. All his belongings are still in his flat in Leeds, he said. Asked by interrogators about his religious affiliations and frequent visits to a local Leeds mosque, El-Nashar reportedly said that, "visiting the mosque and being a devout Muslim who prays is not a crime to be taken against me, and does not make me an extremist or a terrorist." Much the same sentiment was echoed by El-Nashar's neighbours in Bassatin. "He performed his prayers at the mosque and so what? All Muslims are required to pray, does that brand us all as terrorists?" one asked. The day following El-Nashar's arrest, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said he had no links with Al-Qaeda network, describing reports linking him to the group as "groundless" and based on hasty conclusions. Despite these denials, speculation about the possibility of extraditing the chemist to the UK continued throughout the week. These rumours were based on a long- standing and well-known Egyptian campaign to bring UK-based militants who had been sentenced by Cairo military courts in absentia back home to serve their time. The possibility was thus dangled that the wanted chemist might be exchanged for them. The prosecutor-general's office, however, appeared to quickly close the door on that possibility, when it issued a statement denying any likelihood of El-Nashar being extradited. If there proved to be valid charges against him, it said, he would be tried and held in Egypt. In any case, there is no extradition treaty between Egypt and Britain. Meanwhile, in the UK press, allegations continued to be bandied about regarding El-Nashar possibly providing answers about how the bombs were detonated. The extent to which British police were involved in the questioning of El-Nashar in Cairo also remained up in the air. According to British press reports quoting a security source, officers from Scotland Yard had flown out to Cairo shortly after El-Nashar's arrest, and were liaising closely with the Egyptian authorities, although they were not allowed to pose direct questions. At the same time, Egyptian security sources denied that Britain had requested or sent any of its security bodies to take part in the interrogation process, adding that the British police said the questioning carried out by their Egyptian counterparts was "transparent and reliable". Until the paper went to press, there was no comment from the British police confirming or denying such reports. "There is complete security cooperation with the British side, which is convinced from the questioning carried out by Egypt that El-Nashar has no role in these explosions," a senior security source was quoted as saying. Pending further questioning, added the source, the chemist "will not be released at present". On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit said that he would be meeting with the British ambassador in Cairo to discuss the latest developments in El-Nashar's case. A British Embassy spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the matter, saying the embassy never discussed ongoing investigations. At the National Research Centre (NRC) where El-Nashar worked for 10 years, his professors were incredulous that such a bright academic personality would become entwined -- even incorrectly -- in a terrorist-related incident. According to NRC head Hani El-Nazer, the "intelligent and clever" chemist started working on his masters in biochemistry in 1996 and finished in 1998. In 2000 El-Nashar applied for a grant at the North Carolina State University for his PhD, where his application was accepted. There, his professor said he needed to update his masters before he could move on to the PhD. Seeing that as a waste of time, he applied for a PhD grant at Leeds University and was accepted. El-Nashar obtained his PhD this year, and returned to Egypt to present his certificate to the NRC for accreditation. He then requested to continue his post- doctoral studies at Leeds where he was due to start in August, which "shows that Leeds University and his professors there encouraged him to continue," El-Nazer said. While not knowing him personally, El-Nazer noted that El-Nashar's reputation is that of a man committed to hard work and academia. El-Nashar, who is currently single, got married in 2000, and divorced a year later. He has a three-year-old daughter, Noha, who lives with her mother in Cairo. According to the imam of the mosque in the neighbourhood where El-Nashar grew up, he used to help high school students with free chemistry lessons. Mohamed, El-Nashar's younger brother, described their family as being beloved by his neighbours, for its "decent and tolerant" manners.
