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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Heritage Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Extradition put off
By Jailan HalawiThe decision to deport Abdel-Akhar Hammad and Mohieddin Abdel-Moneim, both held at Frankfurt Airport with their relatives since 27 January, has been postponed by the country's highest court, a spokesman for the German Interior Ministry in Berlin said.
"The deportation should have taken place last Friday, but has been put on hold pending a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court," the spokesman said.
Earlier, a lower court had turned down the pair's request for asylum as groundless and ordered their deportation to Egypt. On Tuesday, Frankfurt's Administrative Court ruled in favour of the extradition.
"Whether or not the German authorities will hold the extradition verdict until the Federal Constitutional Court decides on the appeal submitted by the Islamists' lawyer is still unknown," said Montasser El-Zayyat, a lawyer who has defended militants tried in Egypt, in a telephone interview with Al-Ahram Weekly following Tuesday's court ruling.
According to German law, El-Zayyat said, there is nothing that commits authorities to postpone the two men's deportation, "except their respect of and commitment to human rights."
Hammad, 45, along with his wife and five children, had flown to Frankfurt from the United Arab Emirates, where he had worked as a preacher in a mosque. Abdel-Moneim, 35, came to Frankfurt from Syria with his wife and son.
In 1981, Hammad was arrested for taking part in the assassination of former President Anwar El-Sadat. He was acquitted after serving three years in jail. Abdel-Moneim was locked up for seven years for his role in the killing.
The two are regarded as leading figures in Egypt's largest militant group, Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), which carried out the 1997 November massacre of 58 tourists in Luxor. Since their release, both men had been detained for questioning several times. They finally left Egypt in 1989, before the failed attempt on the life of then Interior Minister Zaki Badr.
Top security sources speaking to the Weekly on condition of anonymity said Egypt had not officially submitted any requests concerning the extradition of the two men.
Last week, German immigration authorities rejected both men's asylum requests submitted upon their arrival, charging them with illegal entry and ordering their deportation to Egypt.
The human rights group, Amnesty International, has urged a review of the case, asking the German Interior Ministry to reconsider its deportation order.
According to El-Zayyat, Hammad ranks as Al-Gama'a's No 2 spiritual leader after the blind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman. The latter is serving a life sentence in a US prison for plotting to bomb New York City landmarks. "Hammad is an Islamic preacher who only promotes the word of Allah. He has never been convicted in any case and was not involved in any military operations," El-Zayyat said.
Hammad used an expired passport to enter Frankfurt while Mohieddin used a forged one. This, according to El-Zayyat, was the only reason that led to the deportation decision.
During the past two years, seven Al-Gama'a militants have been deported to Egypt from the United Arab Emirates. One was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case dubbed in the press as the "Returnees from Albania".
The Gama'a, fighting to overthrow the government and establish a purist Islamic state, took up arms in 1992. The government fought back by referring the militants to military courts which have sentenced more than 90 people to death in the past eight years. Around 70 have been executed.
More than 40 suspected militants have been handed over to Egypt by nearly 10 countries, including Albania, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.
During the Islamists' armed campaign, almost 1,200 people, mainly militants and police, were killed. Gama'a leaders called a unilateral cease-fire in 1997 and the group has mounted few, if any, attacks since the slaughter in Luxor.
