Egypt frees Sadat murder plotter

[dArKeR]

Cairo - Egyptian authorities have freed a repentant leader of the Islamic militants who murdered president Anwar Sadat 22 years ago, in a move aimed at showing their grip on security, analysts said on Monday.

Karam Zohdi, 51, a leader of the Jamaa Islamiya group, was freed at the weekend because, law enforcement sources said, he had not only served his sentence, but was also suffering from heart problems and had repented.

He was one of about 1 000 members of the radical Jamaa Islamiya group who promised to give up their militant activities released by Egyptian authorities over the weekend, police said on Monday.

"Almost 1 000 Jamaa Islamiya members who have made a commitment to renounce violence and extremist ideas have been freed," they said.

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