Yassir al-Sirri
Encyclopedia
Yasser Tawfiq Ali El-Sirri (ياسر توفيق علي السري) (kunya
Abu Ammar) is an Egyptian militant connected to the Vanguards of Conquest
and Jemaah Islamiyah
, sentenced to death in the 1998 Returnees from Albania
trial.
Finding asylum in England, he became the director of the Islamic Information Centre.
for the next ten years. In 1982, he was given a dishonorable discharge from the Egyptian military after partaking in demonstrations against the government, and attended the Institute for Social Services in Port Said
for the next five years. In 1984, he was jailed for three months for distributing pamphlets attacking Egyptian political leadership.
He eventually began working for al-Hidaya al-Islamiyah which helped the families of those Islamists arrested by the government.
He moved to Yemen in 1989, and subsequently to Sudan. He traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan three times, where he volunteered with charitable organisations helping the refugees from the Soviet war in Afghanistan
from 1991-1992.
in 1993 or 1994, following the attempted assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Sedki
which killed a 12-year old schoolgirl named Shaimaa.
He fled to England in 1994 and was granted political asylum. He began producing the Islamic Media Monitor. Following the 1997 Luxor massacre, Egypt issued a list of fourteen wanted Islamists, including el-Sirri.
On April 29 and October 23, 1999, he received telephone calls from Ahmed Abdel Sattar. He was arrested in October 2001, charged with helping Sattar support Omar Abdel-Rahman
, but the charges were dismissed seven months later.
In 2005, he gave statements to the media alleging Hosni Mubarak
had rigged the Egyptian elections, and encouraged citizens to boycott the election.
On August 7, 2002, Egypt arrested both al-Sirri's brothers in Suez
and held them in administrative detention. Yahya Tawfiq ‘Ali al-Sirri was a football trainer, and Muhammad Tawfiq ‘Ali al-Sirri was an engineer. On October 1, 2003, his uncle Al-Sayid Muhammad Hassan ‘Abd al-Ghani was also arrested and became a ghost prisoner.
In an interview which aired on Al-Hiwar TV on February 2, 2011 (as translated by MEMRI), Al-Sirri called for Egyptians to block international shipping through the Suez Canal in support of the revolution against Hosni Mubarak.
Kunya (Arabic)
A kunya is a teknonym, the name of an adult derived from their child, especially their eldest son, in Arabic names.A kunya is expressed by the use of abū or umm in a genitive construction, i.e "father of" or "mother of" as a honorific in place of or alongside given names in the Arab world and the...
Abu Ammar) is an Egyptian militant connected to the Vanguards of Conquest
Vanguards of Conquest
Founded as a branch of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad operating in Somalia in 1993, the Vanguards of Conquest were a separate faction that eventually folded back into the group under the leadership of Ayman al-Zawahiri....
and Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiah , is a Southeast Asian militant Islamic organization dedicated to the establishment of a Daulah Islamiyah in Southeast Asia incorporating Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Philippines, Singapore and Brunei...
, sentenced to death in the 1998 Returnees from Albania
Returnees from Albania
The case of the Returnees from Albania was a massive criminal trial in an Egyptian military court from February to April 1999. The trial is one of the principal sources of information about Sunni terrorist groups in the 1990s, especially al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya and its offshoot Egyptian Islamic...
trial.
Finding asylum in England, he became the director of the Islamic Information Centre.
Early life
al-Sirri attended primary school in al-Mansurah from 1967–72, before going to school in SuezSuez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
for the next ten years. In 1982, he was given a dishonorable discharge from the Egyptian military after partaking in demonstrations against the government, and attended the Institute for Social Services in Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
for the next five years. In 1984, he was jailed for three months for distributing pamphlets attacking Egyptian political leadership.
He eventually began working for al-Hidaya al-Islamiyah which helped the families of those Islamists arrested by the government.
He moved to Yemen in 1989, and subsequently to Sudan. He traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan three times, where he volunteered with charitable organisations helping the refugees from the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
from 1991-1992.
Militant history
He was sentenced to death in absentiaIn absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
in 1993 or 1994, following the attempted assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Sedki
Atef Sedki
Atef Muhammad Naguib Sedki was the Prime Minister of Egypt from 1986 until 1996. He replaced Ali Mahmoud Lutfi on November 10, 1986.-Biography:...
which killed a 12-year old schoolgirl named Shaimaa.
He fled to England in 1994 and was granted political asylum. He began producing the Islamic Media Monitor. Following the 1997 Luxor massacre, Egypt issued a list of fourteen wanted Islamists, including el-Sirri.
On April 29 and October 23, 1999, he received telephone calls from Ahmed Abdel Sattar. He was arrested in October 2001, charged with helping Sattar support Omar Abdel-Rahman
Omar Abdel-Rahman
Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman , commonly known in the United States as "The Blind Sheikh", is a blind Egyptian Muslim leader who is currently serving a life sentence at the Butner Medical Center which is part of the Butner Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina, United...
, but the charges were dismissed seven months later.
In 2005, he gave statements to the media alleging Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
had rigged the Egyptian elections, and encouraged citizens to boycott the election.
On August 7, 2002, Egypt arrested both al-Sirri's brothers in Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
and held them in administrative detention. Yahya Tawfiq ‘Ali al-Sirri was a football trainer, and Muhammad Tawfiq ‘Ali al-Sirri was an engineer. On October 1, 2003, his uncle Al-Sayid Muhammad Hassan ‘Abd al-Ghani was also arrested and became a ghost prisoner.
In an interview which aired on Al-Hiwar TV on February 2, 2011 (as translated by MEMRI), Al-Sirri called for Egyptians to block international shipping through the Suez Canal in support of the revolution against Hosni Mubarak.