Thursday, August 2, 2012

Egypt asks US to free last Egyptian jihadist at Guantanamo

Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has asked the United States to free an Egyptian held at Guantanamo Bay since 2001 and who had been charged with backing terrorist groups in Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

It was the latest move by the Muslim Brotherhood-led administration to secure freedom for Egyptians jailed for Islamist militancy at home and abroad in the few weeks since President Mohamed Mursi was sworn in.

During his campaign for the presidency, Mursi promised to work for the release of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the spiritual leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiya who is serving a life sentence in the United States for planning attacks in New York.

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