CAIRO: Egypt has agreed to release three Britons sentenced to five years in jail in March 2004 for promoting the aims of the Hizbut Tahrir Al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party), an Interior Ministry official said on Monday. The Britons; Reza Pankhurst, Maajid Nawaz and Ian Nisbett, were among a group of 26 men jailed for between one and five years for spreading the propaganda of the Islamist group, which is banned in Egypt but legal in Britain. The official, who asked not to be named, said the ministry had agreed to set them free because they had served three quarters of their sentence. Including their time awaiting trial, they have been in jail for almost four years. Their lawyers submitted a request that they be freed and the ministry agreed, he added. They are expected to leave prison within a few days, a ministry source added. Zara Pankhurst, Reza s mother, told Reuters she expected the Egyptian authorities to deport them to Britain the moment they are freed, adding that should happen within a few days. At the time of the trial, Hizbut Tahrir complained the authorities had tortured the defendants to extract confessions. The Egyptian authorities say they investigate all complaints of torture in detention. The human rights group Amnesty International said the trial, held in a state security court, was unfair and the men were convicted merely for expressing their views peacefully. The charges against them included spreading propaganda for a group which called for the overthrow of the government. In the same case, eight Egyptians and a Palestinian were sentenced to five years in prison, seven Egyptians to three years and a further seven Egyptians to one year. Reuters
