CAIRO: Egyptian Islamic leader Aboud el-Zomr attended a press conference held at the American embassy in Cairo on Wednesday to show his support for the family of Omar Abdel-Rahman. El-Zomr said said he was treated unfairly under the former regime. According to el-Zomor, his attendance at the press conference was meant to be symbolic, not disruptive. He thanked the politicians and broadcasters who supported his efforts to bring Abdel-Rahman back to Egypt. “There are figures from the former regime who want us to forget the Sheikh's case since he is considered a key figure in the Gama'a Islamiyya,” he told those present. “Gama'a Islamiyya used to have to defend its ideology in the face of a corrupt regime because they called us terrorists. The next generation of the group will have a right to employ its politics in developing Egypt,” he continued. El-Zomor went on to demand that the United States along with the current Egyptian ruling military council release Abdel-Rahman. The sit-in was meant to be symbolic, stating that if they wanted a million-man march they could organize it, he told Youm7. “We are concerned about our country and we are aware of the tough circumstances.” Safwat Abdel Ghani, a member of the Islamic group, said that the demand to release Abdel-Rahman had nothing to do with his affiliation to any political movement, but rather because he is a Muslim and it is their duty to stand by him. “America will not enjoy its security or peace if the Sheikh dies inside an American prison,” he added. Abdel-Rahman was arrested in 1993 for his role in the World Trade Center bombing and was convicted in 1995 for seditious conspiracy, which requires only that a crime be planned, not executed. He was given life in prison and is known by many as The Blind Seikh. Since imprisonment, many conservative groups have called for his release. Members of Gama'a Islamiyya left leaflets behind after the 1997 Luxor massacre, which left 58 tourists dead, demanding his release. BM
