Doha--Exiled Egyptian sociologist and democracy activist Saadeddin Ibrahim says he is prepared to risk arrest by returning to Egypt in June. His return would represent a challenge to the Egyptian government as it tries to quiet dissent before presidential elections due in 2011, and as questions mount about who will succeed President Hosni Mubarak, 81. Ibrahim, who was jailed for months in 2002 in a case that strained U.S.-Egypt ties, accused Cairo of using supporters of the ruling party to harass him with a string of legal cases. "I will return to Egypt, hopefully in June. There is a real risk that I may be detained or arrested again," he told Reuters in an interview in the Qatari capital Doha. Ibrahim, a dual U.S.-Egyptian citizen, has been living abroad since 2007 to avoid the possibility of jail at home. He was sentenced to two years in jail in absentia in 2008 on charges of damaging Egypt's reputation, a verdict that was later overturned by a court which said the charges could only be brought by prosecutors, not individuals. "The government has learned not to prosecute me directly, but to get their cronies to do it, to drain me financially and psychologically. But I'm so homesick that I'm willing to take the risk," Ibrahim said. "The government can claim they have nothing to do with it, that they are private claims against my 'outrageous behaviour'." Ibrahim's 2008 conviction stemmed from a private prosecution by two lawyers who objected to remarks he made about Egypt at a conference in Doha, where he urged Washington -- a big donor -- to link aid with political reform and better human rights. The overturned suit was one of several filed against Ibrahim by politicians and others, some close to Egyptian authorities. Rights groups say the suits are a way for the government to intimidate Ibrahim without putting its name to the cases. Analysts say waning U.S. public pressure on Egypt has given the state a freer hand to act against critics in the run-up to what many Egyptians expect is the eventual transition of power from the president to his politician son, Gamal. Both Mubaraks deny any such plan. Ibrahim said he believes the elder Mubarak will run for a sixth presidential term in 2011. He also said that former nuclear watchdog chief and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei was a credible potential challenger. If Mubarak's son runs, "ElBaradei is likely to win", Ibrahim said. "(He) has created a lot of excitement, and the regime is determined to undermine that and defame him." ElBaradei has been quoted as saying he would enter the race only as an independent, if he decides to participate, although election rules make an independent nomination almost impossible.
