American freed

last updated 8 January 2015

Cairo

Egyptian-American sociologist Saad Eddin Ibrahim was let out of prison this week after an appeals court overturned his conviction for “harming Egypt’s image.” Ibrahim, a professor at the American University in Cairo, had been sentenced in July to seven years in prison for his writings promoting democracy and human rights. The case enraged human rights activists around the world, as well as the U.S. government. Political pressure may have played a role in Ibrahim’s release: President Bush said he would cap aid to Egypt—currently at $2 billion a year—until the scholar was freed. At a new trial scheduled for January, the appeals court ruled, the judge must allow exculpatory evidence that was not admitted in earlier trials. Ibrahim is expected to be acquitted.