Egypt arrests Islamic group founder

The Egyptian State Security arrested the founder of the Egyptian militant organisation, The Islamic Group, Salah Hashem late on Monday in his hometown of Sohag, 500km south of Cairo.

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The Egyptian State Security arrested the founder of the Egyptian militant organisation, The Islamic Group, Salah Hashem late on Monday in his hometown of Sohag, 500km south of Cairo.

His family and lawyers told Gulf News yesterday that they were "shocked and dismayed" over the arrest as Hashem was a strong advocate for the five-year ceasefire announced by the Islamic Group in the wake of Luxor massacre that left 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians dead.

"It is very mysterious, no one knows why exactly the security arrested him. Hashem is known for his peaceful ideology," Lawyer Montasser Al Zayat, a prominent member and lawyer of the Islamic Group, told Gulf News over the phone.

Salah Hashem, a 52-year-oldpower engineer, helped found the Islamic Group or Gamaa Islamiya in the early seventies. The Group's 1980 short alliance with the other militant group of Jihad, resulted in the assassination of late president Anwar Al Sadat in October 1981. Hashem opposed the alliance and denounced trying to change the government by violent means, as a result he was pushed to background of the organisation.

Hashem was tried in absentia and acquitted in Sadat's assassination case in 1981. He was arrested on several occasions for short periods upon accusation of trying to revive the Islamic Group, but was never convicted.

The Islamic Group launched an armed campaign against Egyptian officials and tourists between 1992 and 1997, in an attempt to topple the secular government and establish a puritan Islamic state.

The violenceleft 1,200 dead, mostly policemen and destroyed tourism industry during the nineties. Hashem supported the unilateral ceasefire initiative first issued by the jailed leaders of group in July 1997. Following the 1997 massacre against tourists in Luxor, the Group reinforced their stance.

In March 1999, the group leaders in exile, who were opposing the ceasefire joined the initiative.

"Arresting Salah Hashem is a shocking surprise for the whole family. He has never been involved in any violent activities," Engineer Kamel Hashem, Salah's brother, said over a telephone interview from the southern city of Sohag. "He is the security valve of the Islamic Group. He represents the moderate line. The security used to ask for his help to interfere and solve some disputes between members of the group and the security in Sohag or in Cairo," Kamel added.

Kamel said that the State Security office requested his brother for interrogation on Monday night, and he thought it was a routine inquiry. But he never returned. His house and his office in Sohag Electricity Authority was searched by security forces later on. His home phone was disconnected and the family has not heard from him since. Another member of the group, Ali Radi, was also arrested in Cairo. Radi is a lawyer and he also supports the initiative.

Police officials confirmed the arrest but declined to comment on the reasons for his detention. His lawyer said he might be transferred to the state security prosecution today.

Zayat denied that the arrest could negatively affect the ceasefire, "It is the Islamic Group's unilateral decision. It was not part of a deal or bargain with the government. We are committed to halt of all kinds of violence," Zayat said.

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