[Washington Post] An Egyptian court on Tuesday convicted 43 nonprofit workers, including at least 16 Americans, of illegally using foreign funds to foment unrest in the country and sentenced them to up to five years in prison.Most of the Americans were sentenced in absentia because they had long left the country, including Sam LaHood, son of the U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He received a five-year jail term.
The only American defendant still in Egypt was Robert Becker, who was sentenced to two years. Becker has maintained that his refusal to flee Egypt with fellow Americans who were in the country at the time of the crackdown on nonprofit groups was to show solidarity with his Egyptian colleagues.
| Now he can show solidarity in jug... |
| I think Mr. Becker is about to realize that he is in a country ruled by the not-sane, and that unlike in the movies, this is not amusing for all involved. |
Of the 43 defendants, 27 received five-year jail terms. Another five received two years while 11, all of them Egyptians, got suspended one-year sentences.