CAIRO: Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the Egyptian-American human right advocate, was sentenced in absentia on Saturday to two years in prison for damaging Egypt's reputation. "The Egyptian government wants Saad to stay abroad, his wife, Barbra Ibrahim, told Daily News Egypt. "Saad's articles were for Egypt's benefit, unless they consider talking about human rights and democracy a crime, she said. In his ruling, Judge Hisham Bashir said Ibrahim made false claims and tarnished Egypt's image with his writings in the "foreign press. Ibrahim, founder of the Ibn Khaldun Institute, has not returned to Egypt since the end of 2007, when he came under attack for criticizing the current regime and President Hosni Mubarak in a meeting with US President George W. Bush in Prague, in June 2007. The sociologist criticized the political scene in Egypt in his articles in the foreign press, namely in the Washington Post, which spurred a heavier wave of criticism that later developed into lawsuits. At one point Ibrahim was facing around 10 lawsuits accusing him of tarnishing Egypt's reputation, insulting President Hosni Mubarak, spreading rumors about the status of human rights as well as harming the national economy. Some lawsuits called for stripping him of the Egyptian nationality. Seven of these were either dismissed by the court or found him not guilty. The lawsuits were filed by National Democratic Party (NDP) members or people close to the government. Ibrahim later said he wouldn't return to Egypt until he receives assurances that he would not be arrested. In October 2007, he told a local newspaper that he fears he will be arrested, killed and his murder dressed up as suicide if he returns to Egypt. His lawyer told Daily News Egypt that if Ibrahim "comes back he will be taken to court, especially after the response he got from the foreign minister's assistant that on arrival he would be subject to investigation for charges that include undertaking intelligence work on behalf of the United States. Ibrahim told Daily News Egypt in a previous statement that if he came back he would be in court every other day to attend all the hearings. Abol Naga Al-Mehrizi, member of the NDP and deputy of the Lawyers' Syndicate in Giza, explained that he filed the case against Ibrahim because he defamed Egypt's image abroad and humiliated the president. "Opposition is allowed in Egypt, so why did he criticize Egypt abroad? El-Mehrizi told Daily News Egypt. "And opposition must be for the benefit of Egypt and its people. El-Mehrizi said Ibrahim's articles harmed Egypt's interests abroad and affected the relationship between Egypt and the United States, citing the month-long suspension of $200 million of the $1.3 billion given in annual US aid to Egypt. El-Mehrizi accused Ibrahim of: falsely claiming that Copts are subjected to discrimination in Egypt, insulting the Egyptian president and describing Egypt as a "big prison. Ibrahim's lawyer refuted these claims, saying that the court had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm that Ibrahim's comments affected Egyptian-American relations. According to the lawyer, the ministry said it was difficult to determine if such criticism led to this suspension of aid. While the ruling in another lawsuit is expected in September, Ibrahim's lawyer said he would appeal these recent rulings. This is the second time Ibrahim is convicted. In 2001, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for similar charges. The case languished in exceptional and ordinary courts until he won an appeal and was released from prison in 2003.
