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| Egyptian Activists Given 3 Years in Prison for Protests | |
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| CAIRO — Three activists who played leading roles in the uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak were convicted on Sunday of participating in protests and sentenced to three years in prison by an Egyptian court. | CAIRO — Three activists who played leading roles in the uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak were convicted on Sunday of participating in protests and sentenced to three years in prison by an Egyptian court. |
| Human rights advocates said the harsh sentences were the first verdicts in a political case against non-Islamists since the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July. The court’s decision to jail prominent activists for the kinds of protests staged daily over the past three years was a potent reminder of the resilience of Egypt’s security state and the re-emergence of its old order. | Human rights advocates said the harsh sentences were the first verdicts in a political case against non-Islamists since the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July. The court’s decision to jail prominent activists for the kinds of protests staged daily over the past three years was a potent reminder of the resilience of Egypt’s security state and the re-emergence of its old order. |
| Gamal Eid, the executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, said there was little doubt that Egypt’s military-backed leaders intended the sentences as a warning to pro-democracy activists. “It is time to shut up, to stay quiet,” Mr. Eid said, summing up the message. “There is only one choice — to support the military or to be in jail.” | |
| The activists — Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Adel and Ahmed Douma — were also each ordered to pay more than $7,000 in fines. | The activists — Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Adel and Ahmed Douma — were also each ordered to pay more than $7,000 in fines. |
| The defendants were accused of violating a controversial new law that criminalizes gatherings of more than 10 people without authorization. The charges stemmed from an episode last month in which the riot police tried to disperse activists who had gathered outside a courthouse to protest an arrest warrant served against Mr. Maher. | The defendants were accused of violating a controversial new law that criminalizes gatherings of more than 10 people without authorization. The charges stemmed from an episode last month in which the riot police tried to disperse activists who had gathered outside a courthouse to protest an arrest warrant served against Mr. Maher. |
| The three men were also charged with assaulting police officers, several of whom may have choked on their own tear gas, according to a lawyer for the defendants. The men are expected to appeal the sentences. | |
| A government crackdown that followed Mr. Morsi’s ouster was focused squarely on the former president’s Islamist supporters, who were shot at protests in successive mass killings and thrown into prison by the thousands. | |
| Drawing on unwavering public support for the crackdown, the authorities cast a wider net: After Mr. Morsi’s ouster, officials who had warned Egyptians about the danger of Islamist “terrorism” also began to warn about the threat from youth activists, calling them a “fifth column” seeking to destroy the country. | Drawing on unwavering public support for the crackdown, the authorities cast a wider net: After Mr. Morsi’s ouster, officials who had warned Egyptians about the danger of Islamist “terrorism” also began to warn about the threat from youth activists, calling them a “fifth column” seeking to destroy the country. |
| The activists have suspected that Egypt’s most powerful state institutions, which have remained unreformed through the country’s years of upheaval, are trying to extract a measure of retribution against critics and for the toppling of Mr. Mubarak. | The activists have suspected that Egypt’s most powerful state institutions, which have remained unreformed through the country’s years of upheaval, are trying to extract a measure of retribution against critics and for the toppling of Mr. Mubarak. |
| “The judiciary and the state are taking revenge against us, clearly,” Rasha Azab, a journalist and antigovernment activist, wrote in a post on Twitter after the verdicts on Sunday. After months of international criticism for the repressive measures of the security services, Egypt’s diplomatic isolation has eased as regional and Western allies, including the United States, have sought to court the new government and its unofficial leader, Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the powerful army chief. | |
| Egyptian officials have promised a speedy transition to democracy, while simultaneously broadening the scope of the crackdown. In recent days, the government has been promoting a referendum on a draft constitution that is supposed to be part of a road map that will lead to elections. It has also moved aggressively against its opponents on several fronts. | Egyptian officials have promised a speedy transition to democracy, while simultaneously broadening the scope of the crackdown. In recent days, the government has been promoting a referendum on a draft constitution that is supposed to be part of a road map that will lead to elections. It has also moved aggressively against its opponents on several fronts. |
| Last week, new charges were leveled against Mr. Morsi, implicating him in elaborate conspiracies to destabilize the country before his ouster on July 3. On Wednesday, state security agents raided the offices of a human rights organization, apparently to arrest Mr. Adel. During the raid, agents beat other employees of the organization and ransacked its offices. | Last week, new charges were leveled against Mr. Morsi, implicating him in elaborate conspiracies to destabilize the country before his ouster on July 3. On Wednesday, state security agents raided the offices of a human rights organization, apparently to arrest Mr. Adel. During the raid, agents beat other employees of the organization and ransacked its offices. |
| The verdicts on Sunday raised fears for several other prominent activists currently on trial on similar charges in Cairo and Alexandria. | The verdicts on Sunday raised fears for several other prominent activists currently on trial on similar charges in Cairo and Alexandria. |
| Mr. Maher and Mr. Adel are both founders of the April 6 youth movement, which rose to prominence with protests against Mr. Mubarak’s rule beginning in 2008 and played a central role in the revolt that toppled him. Mr. Douma, also a well-known antigovernment activist, was most recently convicted of insulting Mr. Morsi and given a suspended six-month sentence. | Mr. Maher and Mr. Adel are both founders of the April 6 youth movement, which rose to prominence with protests against Mr. Mubarak’s rule beginning in 2008 and played a central role in the revolt that toppled him. Mr. Douma, also a well-known antigovernment activist, was most recently convicted of insulting Mr. Morsi and given a suspended six-month sentence. |
| In a letter from prison on toilet paper, Mr. Maher wrote a withering tract about the country’s authoritarian turn. | In a letter from prison on toilet paper, Mr. Maher wrote a withering tract about the country’s authoritarian turn. |
| “Torture in police stations remains, while the Ministry of Interior is back to what it was,” he wrote. “The protest law was passed, and the oppression of freedoms is back.” | |
| “Now,” he added, “the youth of the revolution are in prison.” | “Now,” he added, “the youth of the revolution are in prison.” |
Mayy El Sheikh contributed reporting. | Mayy El Sheikh contributed reporting. |