Egyptian lawyer requests government pardon for Afghan Egyptians

The lawyer of the Islamic extremist groups in Egypt, Montaser Al Zayat, requested that Egyptian political leadership reconsider the method with which it deals with religious groups and release detained members of those groups who are not involved in specific acts of violence. He also requested that Egyptian political leadership pardon those who are called the Afghan Egyptians and apply the judicial sentences that some of them received.

He believed that those procedures would contribute to stopping the violence and prevent the recurrence of violent acts in the future.

Al Zayat said that he will focus in his defense on the roots of violence and the factors that led to its spread during the past years, which include the partial application of democracy which pushed the desperate youth into using the language of bullets after they lost their right for self expression.

He added that the civil courts' verdicts are welcomed more than those issued by the military courts, implying a fairer treatment to his clients by the civil courts.