CAIRO – An Egyptian court on Tuesday sentenced 43 democracy promotion workers, including 16 Americans and a German, to as long as five years in prison for working for unlicensed civil-society organizations in an internationally watched case that renewed fears of a growing crackdown on democracy-promotion efforts in the country.
Among those convicted was Sam LaHood, the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He received a five-year sentence in absentia for his work with the International Republican Institute, which is funded by Congress. LaHood, along with 14 other Americans, fled Egypt in March 2012, shortly after the charges came down.
Only one American, Robert Becker, who worked for the National Democratic Institute, which also is funded by Congress, remained in Egypt throughout the trial in a show of solidarity with the Egyptians who were charged. He was sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor and a $142 fine. He left the country for Rome within hours of the verdict.
"My job here is done. I wanted to be a buffer between my Egyptian colleagues and the government," Becker said.
In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry said the ruling "runs contrary to the universal principle of freedom of association and is incompatible with the transition to democracy."
Officials of the groups whose members were convicted called the ruling an assault on the goals of the 2011 uprising that led to Mubarak's ouster.
MCT
