Hani al-Sibai
| Hani al-Sibai | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961 (age 52–53) |
| Other names |
|
| Known for | Convicted of terrorism in absentia |
Hani al-Sibai (or al-Siba'i) (Arabic: هاني السباعي), also known as Hani Mohammed Yusuf al-Siba'i ( هاني محمد يوسف السباعي ) and Hani al-Said al-Siba'i Yusuf ( هاني السيد السباعي يوسف ) (b. 1961) is an Islamist Egyptian Sunni scholar and lawyer who lives in London with the status of a political refugee. As a lawyer in Egypt, he was a defense attorney.
It was his defence of Islamists, that got him into trouble with the Egyptian government. Egypt proved in court he was one of the fourteen members of the shura of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Egyptian authorities convicted him in absentia in the case of the Returnees from Albania and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. In response, he fled to the United Kingdom where he was later arrested and accused of membership in al-Jihad.[1][2] However, he remains in London, England as efforts to deport him have failed.[3]
In September 2005, he was one of seven Egyptians whose names were added to the UN 1267 Committee's list of banned individuals.[4] A few days later he was added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals maintained by the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control, as a supporter of al-Qaeda or an allied group.[5]
Al-Sibai is sometimes referred to as "Doctor" or "Shaykh Doctor" Hani al-Sibai, on the strength of a doctorate in "comparative criminal jurisprudence" (Sharia Law),[6] though his degree is unverifiable. On the same grounds, he is therefore described as a former lawyer. He is the founder and director[7] of the Almaqreze Centre for Historical Studies ( مركز المقريزي للدراسات التاريخية ) in London.
References
- ↑ Mohammed Al Shafey (2005-12-10). "Inside Britain's Gitmo". Asharq Alawsat. Retrieved 2010-10-06. "Hani al Sibai, an Egyptian, who spent 9 months behind bars in the high-security jail after being arrested during Operation Challenge in 1998, where the Metropolitan Police detained a number of Muslim figures affiliated with Islamic Jihad, told Asharq al Awsat that he spent 28 days on hunger strike in protest of the ill-treatment to which he was subjected." mirror
- ↑ "Operation Challenge". Making Sense of Jihad. Retrieved 2010-10-06. "The fundamentalist leaders in the capital, London, have forgotten their basic differences and have temporarily united in the demonstration scheduled outside 10 Downing Street -- the British prime minister's office -- for Friday 12 March, in protest against the continued detention of five fundamentalists (believed to be members of the armed Jihad organization) in the Belmarsh jail in southeast London, following the 28 September 1998 raids carried out by Scotland Yard in conjunction with British intelligence as part of Operation Challenge. These are Sayyid Ahmad 'Abd-al-Maqsud, Ibrahim 'Aydarus, Hani al-Siba'i, Sayyid 'Ajami Mu'awwad, and Usamah Hasan." mirror
- ↑ Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Summary of the Security Intelligence Report concerning Mahmoud Jaballah, February 22, 2008. Appendix A.
- ↑ UN list of affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Taliban
- ↑ US Treasury banned entity list
- ↑ CV at al-Sibai's website, in Arabic
- ↑ Almaqreze Centre website (Arabic)