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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Focus Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Militant suspect sought
By Jailan HalawiEl-Said Hassan Mukhlis, an Egyptian tradesman, was arrested in Uruguay on 29 January as he attempted to enter the country from Brazil using a false Malaysian passport.
Egypt wants Mukhlis extradited for his suspected involvement in various terrorist activities, as well as for belonging to the outlawed Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya.
The Uruguayan press had reported that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had accused Mukhlis of having links with Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, suspected of masterminding the twin bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania last August.
Cecilia Schroeder, Mukhlis' Uruguayan lawyer, arrived in Cairo last week, searching for documents and legal loopholes that might help her halt a possible extradition.
Schroeder met with Mukhlis' Egyptian lawyer, Montasser El-Zayyat, and representatives of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR).
In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Schroeder said: "I do not think that my client is the man your country is looking for. I am optimistic about my client's situation and I hope he will be a free man soon."
According to Schroeder, Mukhlis was a resident of a town called Chuy, located along the Brazilian-Uruguayan border. He lived there with his wife and three children. His trade was selling electrical appliances.
Schroeder said Mukhlis was forced to use a forged passport because he could not renew his expired travel documents.
Mukhlis was arrested upon arrival at the Uruguayan immigration office with his wife and children and a man named Gameel Mohamed Moussa, who had given them a lift across the border.
All were released except Mukhlis.
Uruguayan police files indicate they had information from the CIA that three Egyptians carrying forged passports would attempt to cross the border between Brazil and Uruguay and that they probably belonged to an illegal group.
A Montevideo court decided that Mukhlis should be remanded in custody for 45 days. During this period, judicial authorities in Uruguay received a request, through the Egyptian chapter of the International Police (Interpol), for the arrest of Mukhlis.
According to Schroeder, documents submitted by Egyptian authorities described Mukhlis as "a member of the illegal Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya that acts to destabilise the democratic regime by terrorist methods, the possession of firearms and explosives and plotting assassinations".
On 12 March, Uruguayan judicial authorities received an official Egyptian request for the extradition of Mukhlis. In the court hearings, a judge ruled that Egypt should support its request with more detailed documents. These should include the text of the Egyptian law that authorises the prosecutor-general to order an arrest. In Uruguay this is the prerogative of the court. The judge also demanded details of the charges and penalties Mukhlis is facing in Egypt as well as information on whether he had been tried or sentenced by an Egyptian court. The judge granted the Egyptian government until 12 April to forward this information and the government complied.
"In our country we do not have death penalties or life imprisonment," Schroeder said. "Therefore, I do not believe that my client will be extradited to Egypt. This man is innocent and should immediately be released."
On 13 April, Uruguay's ambassador to Egypt received an anonymous telephone threat that political sources have linked to the efforts that are being made to gain Mukhlis' extradition.
A top security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Since the militant is wanted for various terrorist activities, there are several Egyptian authorities working on this case. The Egyptian chapter of Interpol is one of them. We are also compiling a file that will be sent to the Uruguayan judiciary."
According to a source close to militants, Egyptian authorities have no reason to seek Mukhlis' extradition because he has never been an active member of Al-Gama'a.
Mukhlis hails from the coastal city of Port Said. He left Egypt in the early 1990s, fearing random arrests of Al-Gama'a members.
Hector Gros, an adviser to the Egyptian Embassy in Uruguay, said in February that Uruguay was likely to approve Egypt's request to hand over the man if Cairo promised not to sentence him to death.
A political source said Uruguay wanted proof of the allegations against Mukhlis and an assurance that he would be turned over to civil authorities and not to a military court in which sentences cannot be appealed.
Egypt has no extradition treaty with Uruguay.
