Brotherhood's Morsi vows to help US-held 'Blind Sheikh'

Ahram Online, Thursday 17 May 2012

Presidential hopeful Mohamed Morsi promises to use his term in office to lobby for release of Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence in the US for terrorist activities

The Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate, Mohamed Morsi vowed that if he is elected president, he will take up the case of the "Blind Sheikh" Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence in the US for his alleged part in terrorist attacks.

Morsi said that Abdel Rahman's ordeal will be like a "load on his shoulders" and that he will lobby for his release.

Abdel Rahman, a New York based Egyptian citizen and Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya figure, has been held in US-based facilities for his ‘involvement’ in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing. He is also said to have planned the 9 September 2001 attacks on the twin towers and the Pentagon’s headquarters from inside prison.

Since the revolution, his supporters have held repeated sit-ins in front of the American embassy to demand his release and return to Egypt.

Short link: