Trail dates set for lawsuits against Ibrahim after he calls for reduced U.S. aid

The court dates are now set for private lawsuits against Egyptian-American rights activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim. Politicians and lawyers with links to the Egyptian government are charging him with harming Egypt’s economy by calling for cuts in U.S assistance, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

According to the article: “The cases, three of which were brought by leaders of token political parties, will be heard in court on Nov. 8, 18, 20 and Dec. 1. Ibrahim is currently outside the country.”

“We are reluctant to treat this very seriously,” said his wife, U.S.-born Barbara Ibrahim. “There is no substance [to it] and there is no law in Egypt that prevents citizens from having an opinion on the aid.”

The 68-year-old sociologist described, in an August 21 Washington Post opinion piece, the Egyptian government’s crackdown on all forms of opposition in order to engineer an unpopular father-son succession – referring to speculation that President Hosni Mubarak’s son Gamal will succeed him in office.

“Sadly, this regime has strayed so far from the rule of law that, for my own safety, I have been warned not to return to Egypt,” he wrote. “Regime insiders and those in Cairo’s diplomatic circles have said that I will be arrested or worse.”

Last month several newspaper editors received jail sentences after being sued by private individuals for insulting the government.

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