Mamdouh Ismail () is an Egyptian defence attorney and a former member of "the Jihad group" (later called

Egyptian Islamic Jihad The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ; ), formerly called simply Islamic Jihad () and the Liberation Army for Holy Sites, originally referred to as al-Jihad, and then the Jihad Group, or the Jihad Organization, was an Egyptian Islamist group active ...

), who since the 1980s has represented various Egyptians accused of terrorism offences in Egypt. He was arrested himself on 29 March 2007Egypt detains lawyer on charges of funding Al-Qaeda
AFP, 4 April 2007 and is now accusedEgypt: Attorney Indicted for Supporting al-Qaeda
''

Asharq Alawsat ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' (, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted for its distinctive green-tinted pages. Although pu ...

'', 4 April 2007, ''Dar al-Hayat'' (Lebanon), 2 April 2007; in Arabic of complicity in an "Egyptian project" of

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

, taking his orders from

Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...

via Muhammad Khalil al-Hukaymah (al-Qaeda propaganda chief) and

Hani al-Sibai Hani Mohammed Yusuf al-Siba'i (هاني محمد يوسف السباعي) (born 1 March 1961 in Qaylubiyah, Egypt) is an Egyptian Islamic scholar who was a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad and now lives in London as a political refugee. Effort ...

(publicist for Egyptian Islamic Jihad). All three—Ismail, al-Sibai,al-Sibai's statement
in Arabic, 2 April 2007 and al-HukaymahAl-Qaida No. 2 avoiding phone, Internet

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

, 5 April 2007Muhammad Khalil al-Hakaymah Issues Statement Denying Charges Brought Upon Mamdouh Ismail by Egyptian Authorities
SITE Institute, 6 April 2007 —deny that charge. Ismail is also charged with incitement.Prominent Islamist lawyer arrested, accused of membership in militant group
AP, 3 April 2007 As of late 2011, he was a member of the

Authenticity Party The Authenticity Party (, ''ḥizb el-asala'') is one of the political parties created in Egypt after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. It has an ultra-conservative Islamist Salafist ideology, which believes in implementing strict Sharia law. The pa ...

. When

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (; , "Father of Musab, of Zarqa"; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel Nazal al-Khalayleh (), was a Jordanian militant jihadist who ran a training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq a ...

was killed in June 2006 and replaced by someone with the previously unknown pseudonym

Abu Hamza al-Muhajir Abu Ayyub al-Masri ( ; , ', translation: "Father of Ayyub the Egyptian"; 1967 – 18 April 2010), also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir

, the American military soon identified the latter as

Abu Ayyub al-Masri Abu Ayyub al-Masri ( ; , ', translation: "Father of Ayyub the Egyptian"; 1967 – 18 April 2010), also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir

. It was Mamdouh Ismail who then started the false rumour that Abu Ayyub was already in prison in Egypt.Iraq al-Qaeda chief jail mystery

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, 6 July 2006 Ismael has publicly objected to a reconciliation between Cairo and Egyptian Islamic Jihad. In 1999 he was refused permission to establish an Islamist political party (called Hizb ash-Shari'a) with the help of fellow lawyer Muntasir al-Zayyat.The limits of tolerance
, ''

Al-Ahram ''Al-Ahram'' (; ), founded on 5 August 1876, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second-oldest after '' Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriyya'' (''The Egyptian Events'', founded 1828). It is majority owned by the Egyptian governm ...

'', 25 November 1999 Those two worked alongside Hani al-Sibai as well, before the latter took refuge in the UK. Ismael was one of the hundreds who were rounded up following the assassination of Anwar al-Sadat in 1981; he served three years. The arrest in 2007 is his first since that time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Mamdouh Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Egyptian lawyers 21st-century Egyptian lawyers