3 take refuge in U.S. Embassy amid inquiry
CAIRO — The U.S. Embassy is giving shelter to three U.S. citizens to protect them from potential arrest as part of a politically charged investigation into the activities of four U.S.-backed nongovernmental organizations operating in Egypt, colleagues said Monday.
The decision to give shelter is a new low in the relations between Cairo and Washington, which recently threatened to stop its $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt's military if it fails to take steps toward a democratic opening, including respecting such nongovernmental groups.
Word of the decision came as the ruling military council began taking steps to address its fraying relations with Washington by sending a delegation to the United States this week to meet with their counterparts, legislators and other officials. The delegation was in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, visiting the Central Command headquarters.
JORDAN: Outspoken cleric critical of Syrian leader reportedly flees to Jordan.
A Syrian dissident said a blind cleric who is an outspoken critic of Syrian President Bashar Assad has fled to Jordan.
Fadi Abu Mustafa of the Free Syrian Army said blind mosque preacher Ahmad al-Sayasneh was smuggled into Jordan on Saturday from the rebellious border town of Deraa through a hilly northern border area devoid of Syrian patrols. Mustafa said Jordanian police are questioning him.
Al-Sayasneh, a Sunni Muslim, preached at Deraa's Omari Mosque, delivering fiery sermons calling for civil disobedience. Dozens of people have been killed in clashes with Syrian forces in Deraa.
Dissidents say al-Sayasneh was jailed and tortured for his anti-Assad remarks.
The Free Syrian Army of defectors from the military is based in Turkey, with followers in Jordan and Lebanon.
BRITAIN: Two Libyans sue former counterterrorism chief over torture.
Two Libyans who claim that British spies were involved in their torture and rendition are launching legal action against the former director of counterterrorism at the U.K.'s foreign spy agency, lawyers representing them said today.
Abdel-Hakim Belhaj and Sami al-Saadi, both opponents of Moammar Gadhafi's regime, claim that Mark Allen, a former director of M16, was complicit in torture, and they want to examine his role in their renditions to Libya in 2004. They have sent a letter of claim to Allen to seek his response to the allegations and to claim damages from him personally for the trauma they said they suffered.
EGYPT: Bank, armored car robbed in rare events.
A security official said gunmen stormed the branch of a major international bank and robbed an armored car in separate parts of Cairo.
The official said that seven gunmen charged Monday into the New Cairo branch of HSBC Bank on the city's outskirts, firing their weapons in the air, and took money from tellers.
Also Monday, he said, three gunmen robbed an armored car, fleeing with more than 3 million Egyptian pounds ($542,000).
Armed bank robberies are rare in Egypt. Monday's daring daytime raids come amid reduced police deployments following the uprising that forced President Hosni Mubarak from power last year.
Read more: Middle East roundup - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_19856122?source=rss#ixzz1l2rse7Yv
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
CAIRO — The U.S. Embassy is giving shelter to three U.S. citizens to protect them from potential arrest as part of a politically charged investigation into the activities of four U.S.-backed nongovernmental organizations operating in Egypt, colleagues said Monday.
The decision to give shelter is a new low in the relations between Cairo and Washington, which recently threatened to stop its $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt's military if it fails to take steps toward a democratic opening, including respecting such nongovernmental groups.
Word of the decision came as the ruling military council began taking steps to address its fraying relations with Washington by sending a delegation to the United States this week to meet with their counterparts, legislators and other officials. The delegation was in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, visiting the Central Command headquarters.
JORDAN: Outspoken cleric critical of Syrian leader reportedly flees to Jordan.
A Syrian dissident said a blind cleric who is an outspoken critic of Syrian President Bashar Assad has fled to Jordan.
Fadi Abu Mustafa of the Free Syrian Army said blind mosque preacher Ahmad al-Sayasneh was smuggled into Jordan on Saturday from the rebellious border town of Deraa through a hilly northern border area devoid of Syrian patrols. Mustafa said Jordanian police are questioning him.
Al-Sayasneh, a Sunni Muslim, preached at Deraa's Omari Mosque, delivering fiery sermons calling for civil disobedience. Dozens of people have been killed in clashes with Syrian forces in Deraa.
Dissidents say al-Sayasneh was jailed and tortured for his anti-Assad remarks.
The Free Syrian Army of defectors from the military is based in Turkey, with followers in Jordan and Lebanon.
BRITAIN: Two Libyans sue former counterterrorism chief over torture.
Two Libyans who claim that British spies were involved in their torture and rendition are launching legal action against the former director of counterterrorism at the U.K.'s foreign spy agency, lawyers representing them said today.
Abdel-Hakim Belhaj and Sami al-Saadi, both opponents of Moammar Gadhafi's regime, claim that Mark Allen, a former director of M16, was complicit in torture, and they want to examine his role in their renditions to Libya in 2004. They have sent a letter of claim to Allen to seek his response to the allegations and to claim damages from him personally for the trauma they said they suffered.
EGYPT: Bank, armored car robbed in rare events.
A security official said gunmen stormed the branch of a major international bank and robbed an armored car in separate parts of Cairo.
The official said that seven gunmen charged Monday into the New Cairo branch of HSBC Bank on the city's outskirts, firing their weapons in the air, and took money from tellers.
Also Monday, he said, three gunmen robbed an armored car, fleeing with more than 3 million Egyptian pounds ($542,000).
Armed bank robberies are rare in Egypt. Monday's daring daytime raids come amid reduced police deployments following the uprising that forced President Hosni Mubarak from power last year.
Read more: Middle East roundup - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_19856122?source=rss#ixzz1l2rse7Yv
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
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