Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 3, 1993 TAG: 9307030063
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Short
Abdel-Rahman, some of whose followers are accused in the World Trade Center bombing and a foiled plot to bomb buildings and tunnels in Manhattan, was taken into custody after INS officials revoked his parole on immigration charges.
In Washington, administration officials said the decision to revoke Abdel-Rahman's parole status was based on an attempt Wednesday night to elude surveillance.
"The van in which he was riding made evasive maneuvers like they were trying to lose their tail," said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Thursday morning, U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White in Manhattan called Attorney General Janet Reno and expressed the fear that Abdel-Rahman might be going underground, the official said.
As late as Tuesday, Reno had said it was in the best interest of law enforcement to let the sheik remain free.
The sheik was to remain in federal custody pending a decision on the government's effort to deport him.
In Cairo, meanwhile, followers of the sheik threatened a worldwide bombing campaign if their spiritual leader was taken into custody.
The threats came in sermons delivered Friday at more than a dozen mosques controlled by the radical Muslim fundamentalist al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, or Islamic Group, according to Egyptian news reports.
by CNB