NY bombing 'mastermind' allegedly tortured in Egypt

The lawyer of the man suspected of being the mastermind behind the World Trade Center bombing, Mahmud Abohalima, said that Mr Abohalima had been tortured while imprisoned in Egypt, Reuter reports from New York.

Mr Abohalima, 33, appeared in court for the first time on Thursday, after being brought here from Egypt on Wednesday. He looked exhausted and pale and had a bruise on his forehead. The lawyer, Jesse Berman, said the defendant was arrested near his parents' home near Alexandria on 14 March. 'He was blindfolded for 10 days in Egypt. He was tied and hung from a horizontal board like a shish kebab,' Mr Berman said. 'He has cigarette burns on his genital area. He was beaten with wooden boards.'