Egyptian attorney and Islamic activist Mamedouh Isma'il was arrested recently in Egypt on suspicion of "funding Al-Qaeda in Egypt, Yemen, and Algeria, on the instructions of bin Laden's deputy Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri."
In a communiqué to the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Al-Qaeda member Muhammad Khalil Hassan Al-Hakima stated that Al-Zawahiri had not used any modern means of communication – such as a cell or land phone line, email, or the Internet – for the past four years. He also denied any connection with Isma'il, and said, "When Al-Qaeda decides to act, it does not turn to known Islamic [elements] or to people who have been arrested in the past in Egypt or outside it. This is the ABC of our operations."
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, April 5, 2007
