An Egyptian supporter of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric jailed in the United States for planning a campaign of bombings, flashes his poster outside the police academy court in Cairo (Photo: AP)
A dozen supporters of Omar Abdel Rahman gathered outside the Police Academy on Wednesday, calling for his release from prison in the US. The protesters gathered outside the academy, where the trail of ousted former-president Hosni Mubarak is being held, on the day the court summoned Minister of Interior, Mansour El-Esawy.
Holding banners demanding his release, the protesters called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to demand his release from prison in America, describing him"as the first person to revolt against the corrupt regime that ruled Egypt for thirty years."
Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the Blind Sheikh, and a leading figure in Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya, is being held in US-based facilities for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing. He is also said to have helped plan the 9/11 attacks from inside prison.
The Blind Sheikh's family and a number of members of Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya started an open sit-in outside the US embassy in Cairo a month ago to demand his release.
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