MAY 2000 : (MN : YOUSRY TELLS BLIND SHEIKH OMAR ABDEL RAHMAN & LYNNE STEWART THAT THE ABU SAYYAF GROUP {See IRAQ} HAS KIDNAPPED TOURISTS IN THE PHILIPPINES; SHE RESPONDS "GOOD FOR THEM") In May of 2000, according to the prosecution, tapes indicate that Yousry told the sheikh and [Lynne] Stewart that the Abu Sayyaf group had kidnapped tourists in the Philippines and was threatening to kill them if the sheikh and Ramzi Yousef were not released. Stewart commented, "Good for them,"[22] {[22] "Visit to Minnesota," videotape 1, May 19, 2000, Stewart website.} although she said that while she believed that Abu Sayyaf would not succeed in winning Abdel Rahman's release, its efforts were nonetheless "very, very crucial,"[23] {[23] U.S. vs. Sattar, p. 2143.since the demand would raise his profile among jihadists.} ----- "Lynne Stewart, Jihadi Lawyer," Sharon Chadha, netWMD - The War to Mobilize Democracy ^ | January 11, 2006 | http://netwmd.com/blog/2006/01/11/286
[see Iraqi memo on Abu Sayyaf and its hostage taking- Iraq funded Abu Sayyaf]
SEPTEMBER 2000 : (OSAMA BIN LADEN & AL QAEDA OPERATIVES APPEAR ON AL JAZEERA TV VOWING TO WAGE A JIHAD TO END EIJ SHEIKH OMAR ABDUL RAHMAN’S IMPRISONMENT IN THE US) Not to be outdone, Osama bin Laden and a few of his fellow Al-Qaeda operatives appeared on Al-Jazeera television in September 2000 vowing to wage a jihad to end Rahman’s incarceration (one of the men extolled viewers to “avenge your Sheikh” and “go to the spilling of blood”). — “ Cheerleaders for Terrorism: Radical lawyer Lynne Stewart continues her support for Islamic terror ,” By Erick Stakelbeck, FrontPageMagazine.com, Wednesday, June 17, 2003 posted June 18, 2003