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| International |
| Egyptian arrests founder of Gama'a al-Islamiya |
| 2002-06-15 |
| Egyptian authorities have arrested a founder of one of Egypt's largest Islamist opposition groups. Salah Hashem is the co-founder of the al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, a group that claimed responsibility for killing 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians in a 1997 ambush near Egypt's southern city of Luxor. Tough nails for him... Hashem's lawyer said the Islamist leader was arrested Saturday at his home in Sohag about 500 kilometers south of Cairo. The lawyer said Hashem will be interrogated by the prosecutors' office Wednesday and may face formal charges. Egyptian authorities have not disclosed what charges may be pending. After the 1997 attack the Gamaa al-Islamiyya said its gunmen had not set out to kill the tourists but were trying to take hostages to use as a bargaining chip with the United States in efforts to gain the freedom of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, one of its founders. Abdel Rahman was imprisoned in 1995 for plotting to bomb New York landmarks, including the World Trade Center and the United Nations. Just an accident, y'know? I mean, nobody's perfect. Hashem has advocated non-violence as a means of overthrowing the government and creating an Islamist state. His group, formed in the 1970s, initially focused on preaching its cause but resorted to violence in the late 70s. Hashem split with the group after some of its members were involved in the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Hashem re-emerged as a leading figure in the group in the mid-1990s because of his support for a cease-fire with the Egyptian government. The group has maintained a cease-fire in Egypt for five years. One of the guys implicated in the Sadar assassination was Ayman al-Zawahiri. Apparently the Egyptians have gotten word that the cease fire may be on the verge of ceasing and want to have a little talk with this guy. If he should happen to "fall down the stairs" six or seven times, that won't bother me in the least. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |