Egypt has freed from prison a top member of an Egyptian militant group that butchered 58 foreign tourists in 1997 but whose jailed leaders have called for a cease-fire. Karam Zuhdi, who heads the policy-making Shura council of Egypt's largest Islamic militant group, al-Gamaa al-Islamiya (Islamic Group) and has spent about 20 years behind bars, was released from jail "after completing the term of his sentence," the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) said. It said Interior Minister Habib el-Adli had also ordered his release for humanitarian reasons because Zuhdi suffered from coronary problems, diabetes and osteoporosis.
| His victims are still suffering from decomposition... |
Zuhdi was one of several al-Gamaa members imprisoned for their role in the 1981 assassination of Egypt's President Anwar Sadat. Zuhdi and other jailed leaders of the group called a cease-fire in 1997, a move which divided the group. A security source confirmed to Reuters that Zuhdi had been set free, but could not say when he had been released or give any further details. Al-Gamaa took part in a bloody six-year campaign in the 1990s to overthrow the Egyptian government and install a purist Islamic regime. It gained infamy for the massacre of 58 tourists in the southern town of Luxor later that year by a faction opposed to the cease-fire. There have been no militant attacks in Egypt since then. In recent months, Egypt has published several interviews with jailed al-Gamaa leaders, including Zuhdi, reiterating their commitment to the cease-fire. Security analysts say the interviews were part of government efforts to give moderate Islamists a louder voice to counter any latent threats from those who still espouse violence. |