Montasser el-Zayat () or Muntasir al-Zayyat ( ar, منتصر الزيات ') (born 1956) is an Egyptian lawyer and author whose former clients, according to press reports, included

Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death. Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with ...

, since 2011 the leader of

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

, the terrorist organization, and

al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, "the Islamic Group"; also transliterated El Gama'a El Islamiyya; also called "Islamic Groups" and transliterated Gamaat Islamiya, al Jamaat al Islamiya, is an Egyptian Sunni Islamist movement, and ...

.UNHCR information on al-Zayyat and other Egyptians
/ref> Following the 1981 assassination of

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

, as a young man, el-Zayat was one of the hundreds of politically active Egyptians who were rounded up.U.S. policies causing Islamists rage, some say
, ''

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Although it transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, it rem ...

'', 1 December 2002 He was detained for three years although he was never tried or convicted.

Early life and education

Montasser al-Zayat was born in 1956 in Egypt and educated there. His family is of

Nubian Nubian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Nubia, a region along the Nile river in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. *Nubian people *Nubian languages *Anglo-Nubian goat, a breed of goat * Nubian ibex * , several ships of the Britis ...

descent. As a young man of 21, he was arrested along with hundreds of other politically active Egyptians after the assassination of Anwar Sadat. He was detained for three years without trial and finally released.

Career

Al-Zayyat became an attorney in Egypt. His former clients are said to have included

, since 2011 the leader of

, the terrorist organization based in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also defended

. He has written a book entitled ''Ayman al-Zawahiri as I Knew Him'' (2006),Militant Ideology Atlas
Combating Terrorism Center,

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

which is strongly critical of al-Zawahiri. El-Zayat claims that al-Zawahiri responded to his criticism by electronic mail.Keeping Al-Qaeda in His Grip: Al-Zawahiri Presses Ideology, Deepens Rifts Among Islamic Radicals
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', 16 April 2006 The ''

'' reported that el-Zayat has said of al-Zawahiri, "He always thinks he is right, even if he is alone." El-Zayat also represented Ahmad Ibrahim al-Sayyid al-Naggar in the 1999 case of the

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 ...

. On 1 December 2002 the ''

'' reported that el-Zayat "accused the United States of 'invading the region and imposing its policies — it wants to interfere with our life, and it wants us to modify our religious curriculum. ... This is why the people approved of what happened in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

". El-Zayat is currently the lawyer for the Egyptian cleric,

Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr ( ar, حسن مصطفى أسامة نصر ''Ḥassan Muṣṭafā Usāmah Naṣr'') (born 18 March 1963), also known as Abu Omar, is an Egyptian cleric. In 2003, he was living in Milan, Italy, from where he was kidnapped ...

. He was living in exile in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

when he was allegedly abducted by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

Special Activities Division The Special Activities Center (SAC) is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency responsible for covert operation, covert and paramilitary operations. The unit was named Special Activities Division (SAD) prior to 2015. Within S ...

under the direction of

Robert Seldon Lady Robert Seldon Lady (born February 2, 1954 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; nicknamed "Mister Bob") is a United States agent convicted of kidnapping in Italy for his role in the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA's abduction of Egyptian cleric Hassan Musta ...

.Abducted imam seeks return to Italy
''

ANSA Ansa (Latin for "handle") or ANSA may refer to: Organizations * Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, Italian news agency ** Ansa Mediterranean or ANSAmed, section of the above * Applied Neuroscience Society of Australasia * Association of Norw ...

'', 8 April 2006''

Invited to defend a Guantanamo captive

In May 2009, ''

Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a flag ...

'' reported that el-Zayat had been invited to defend

Mustafa al-Hawsawi Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi ( ar, مصطفى احمد ادم هوساوي; born August 5, 1968) is a Saudi Arabian citizen. He is alleged to have acted as a key financial facilitator for the September 11 attacks in the United States. Mustafa ...

, one of the fourteen

high-value detainees Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States, in the context of the early twenty-first century War on Terrorism, refers to foreign nationals the United States detains outside of the legal process required within United States legal jurisdiction. ...

held at the

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...

, before a

Guantanamo military commission ThGuantanamo military commissionswere established by President George W. Bush – through a Military Order – on November 13, 2001, to try certain non-citizen terrorism suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison. To date, there have been a total of e ...

. El-Zayat described thinking at first that he was the target of a hoax.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zayat, Montasser al- 20th-century Egyptian lawyers Living people 1956 births Egyptian people of Nubian descent 21st-century Egyptian lawyers