Morsi Promises to Work for Release of Imprisoned Sheik
Source: NYT
Published: June 29, 2012
CAIRO — President-elect Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood pre-empted the military’s choreographed swearing-in ceremony by taking his oath of office on Friday in a televised speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters in Tahrir Square. But his rousing tribute to Egyptian sovereignty may be overshadowed by a promise likely to complicate relations with the United States: to work for the release of the Egyptian-born Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, jailed for plotting to bomb a series of New York City landmarks.
The comments appeared to come almost offhandedly in the context of a vow to free Egyptian civilians imprisoned here after military trials during the transition after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.
“I see signs for Omar Abdel Rahman and detainees’ pictures,” he said, referring to placards held by the crowd. “It is my duty and I will make all efforts to have them free, including Omar Abdel Rahman.”
The Muslim Brotherhood moved quickly to try to shift the focus of Mr. Morsi’s pledge, saying in a statement on its Web site that the goal was a potential humanitarian extradition to Egypt and that there was no attempt to question Mr. Abdel Rahman’s 1995 convictions for plotting terrorism against targets in the United States or Egypt.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/world/middleeast/morsi-promises-to-work-for-release-of-omar-abdel-rahman.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
