Montasser el-Zayat

Montasser el-Zayat or Muntasir al-Zayyat ( ; born 1956) is an Egyptian lawyer and author whose former clients, according to press reports, included Ayman al-Zawahiri, since 2011 the leader of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization, and al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya.

Following the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat, as a young man, el-Zayat was one of the hundreds of politically active Egyptians who were rounded up. 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 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 Ayman al-Zawahiri, since 2011 the leader of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization based in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also defended al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya. which is strongly critical of al-Zawahiri.

El-Zayat claims that al-Zawahiri responded to his criticism by electronic mail. The Washington Post reported that el-Zayat has said of al-Zawahiri, "He always thinks he is right, even if he is alone."

Invited to defend a Guantanamo captive In May 2009, Al Arabiya reported that el-Zayat had been invited to defend Mustafa al-Hawsawi, one of the fourteen high-value detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, before a Guantanamo military commission. El-Zayat described thinking at first that he was the target of a hoax.