Scores of Egyptians have held a sit-in in front of the US embassy in Cairo

Scores of Egyptians have held a sit-in in front of the US embassy in Cairo to call for the release of blind Egyptian cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman from American prisons.

The sit-in was staged on Friday and protesters vowed not to leave until they receive an official promise from Washington to set Abdel-Rahman free, DPA reported.

“We will not end our sit-in until my father is freed or we get an official letter from the US that he will be released,” said Ibrahim, the son of the 74-year-old detainee.

Abdel-Rahman has been held in US prisons since 1993. The cleric is serving a life sentence over allegations that he incited the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center by giving speeches at his mosque against US policies, particularly its backing of Mubarak's dictatorial rule in Egypt. He was also accused of making efforts to topple the US government.

He has also been accused by US authorities of inciting Egyptian people to revolt and overthrow the US-backed regime of the country's toppled ruler Hosni Mubarak.

Supporters of the Egyptian cleric insist that the US detained him to please Mubarak, who used to be a key Washington ally.