Egypt releases hundreds including one accused of killing al-Sadat

The Egytian official Middle East News Agency said that the authorities decided to release 567 prisoners including Hisham Abdul Zher Abdul Rahman, one of the political prisoners.

The release includes one of the officials in the Egyptian Islamic group, who was sentenced for 10 years over his involvment in the assassination of the Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat in 1981 and over accusing him of undermining tourism in 1995.

The agency explained that he will be released within the coming hours, but one Egyptian security source said that the he might be released after two or three days.

News reports said that the Egyptian minister of the interior Habib al-Adeli issued the release decision for the prisoners who were sentenced to life imprisonment with labor among them those who completed their sentence term or three quarters of the time, making no distinction among the quality of prisoners, who are either political prisoners and prisoners accused of criminal crimes.

In 2003 Egypt released some 400 members of the Islamic group after they had announced giving up violence, including the key leaders Karam Zuhdi who spent 20 in prison over his particiaption in the assassination of al-Sadat.