CAIRO - Political prisoners Abboud el-Zomor and Tareq el-Zomor Saturday were accorded a tumultuous wleocme from their families upon their release from the Tora Prison in Helwan Governorate, south of Cairo, after they were kept in jail for over 30 years. The citizens of Nahia, affiliated to Giza Governorate, celebrated the two Zomors when they arrived in their hometown. “I call for the creation of a new party, representing Jihadi and Salafist groups,” said an elated Abboud el-Zomor. “We oppose the use of violence and plan to train the Islamist group's members in engaging positively,” he added. Former Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat, in power from 1970 to 1981, was shot dead during a military parade by Khaled el-Islambouli, a member of an Islamist group. Sadat became the first Arab leader to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Tareq and Abboud el-Zomor had been imprisoned for involvement in the 1981 assassination plot that led to Sadat's death. Since the January 25 revolution and the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak on February 11, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has been running the country's affairs. The Council has recently ordered the release of the two Zomors. “I praise the January 25 revolutionaries, thanks to them we are now free,” Abboud said. “I think about nominating myself in the next presidential elections.” Concerning the peace treaty with Israel, he added: “Some of the treaty's articles require amendments.” The Armed Forces Council formed a committee of independent legal experts to amend the Constitution. The referendum will be held next Saturday. “I approve of the constitutional amendments and encourage people to participate in the referendum,” he said. For his part, Tareq el-Zomor expressed his joy about being released. “I'm so happy to be free. Abboud and I refused to make a deal with the former regime,” Tareq said. “They wanted us to criticise and attack the Muslim Brotherhood in return for releasing us.”
