Cairo: Egyptian hard-liners protest in front of US embassy ~ for release of Blind Sheikh - Photos

Abbud al-Zomor (2L), a member of Egypt's Islamic Jihad who was jailed over the 1981 assassination of president Anwar Sadat, attends a demonstration to call for the release of Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman in front of the U.S. embassy in Cairo on April 21, 2011. Abdel-Rahman, was jailed for life in January 1996 for his role in terrorist attacks, including blowing up the World Trade Center in New York in February 1993.

Egyptians chant slogans and hold posters of Omar Abdel Rahman, imprisoned in the United States, during a demonstration calling for his release

Supporters of Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman demonstrate to call for his release in front of the U.S. embassy in Cairo on April 21, 2011

Supporters of Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman demonstrate to call for his release in front of the U.S. embassy in Cairo on April 21, 2011.

(Reuters) - Hundreds of supporters of a radical Muslim Egyptian cleric called on the United States to release him in a rare public demonstration by Islamists who have become more vocal since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

About 400 protesters, most of whom said they belonged to the militant al-Gama'a al-Islamiya group, gathered near the heavily fortified U.S. embassy in downtown Cairo to demand freedom for their spiritual leader Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman.

Abdel Rahman, a blind 73-year-old cleric, was jailed in 1995 and is serving a life sentence in the United States for plotting to attack the United Nations headquarters and other New York City landmarks. [...]