Egypt Convicts 26 in Banned Group Case
An Egyptian court on Thursday convicted 26 people, including three Britons, of trying to revive an outlawed Islamic group and sentenced them to up to five years in prison. Following the sentencing, all of them burst into shouts of “God is Great, thanks be to God!” The three Britons — Ian Malcolm Nisbett, Maajid Nawaz and Reza Pankhurst — were each sentenced to five years. One of the 26 was convicted in absentia. The defendants, first arrested in April 2002, were accused of attempting to revive Hizb-ut-Tahrir, or Islamic Liberation Party, which was banned by the government after an alleged failed coup in 1974. Full Story