Tal'at Fu'ad Qasim

Who was Tal'at Fu'ad Qasim?

Tal'at Fu'ad Qasim was the leader of Egypt's militant Gama'a Islamiyya organization until he obtained political asylum in Denmark. He was executed in secret in 1995, following the first modern "extraordinary rendition" at the hands of U.S. authorities.

Qasim got his start in the Gama'a Islamiyya in the late 1970s, when he was head of the Student Union at Minia University in Upper Egypt; according to some sources, he was the immediate superior in the organization of Anwar Sadat's killer, Khalid Islambouli. He was arrested and imprisoned following the assassination, escaping after serving eight years in prison. He then joined the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan; in 1989 he became head of the Gam'a Islamiyya. After being sentenced to death by an Egyptian security court, he obtained asylum in Denmark, despite his public espousal and embrace of terrorist violence against civilians.

In September 1995, he was kidnapped in Croatia during a trip to war-torn Bosnia. His capture was orchestrated by U.S. authorities, who had concluded that he posed a threat to U.S. interests. After questioning aboard a U.S. Navy vessel, he was handed over to Egyptian authorities in international waters.