THE blind Egyptian cleric jailed in the United States in connection with the World Trade Centre bombing in New York, could have a foot amputated because his diabetes has been neglected, his son claimed on Friday. “American prison authorities have neglected the treatment of my diabetic father, which interrupted the flow of blood to his left foot and caused gangrene,” said the cleric’s son, Abdullah Abdel Rahman. He said his father, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, head of the fundamentalist Jamaa Islamiya, was examined by a “private doctor, who confirmed the damage and said he would “soon need to have the foot amputated.” Sheikh Omar was sentenced to life in prison by a federal court in January 1996 over his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1_000 others. The Sheikh has complained prison officials habitually came to administer his medicine during prayers, making it impossible under Islam for him to accept. – AFP
Friday 27, 2001