WASHINGTON
The U.S. is troubled by an Egyptian court's sentencing of 23 activists to three years each on charges of participating in an illegal demonstration, the State Department said Monday.
The Cairo Misdemeanor Court, which handed down the verdicts Sunday, also fined the activists $1,400 (10,000 Egyptian pounds). The defendants were accused of rioting, vandalizing property, possessing weapons, assaulting security forces and resisting authorities.
"We are deeply troubled by the harsh prison sentence issued yesterday against 23 Egyptians for organizing an unauthorized protest," department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "We urge Egypt’s leadership to quickly complete its review of the demonstration law and to release an amended version that will enable full freedom of expression and association."
Psaki also expressed concern for Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who was ordered back to jail Sunday after his sentence on charges of organizing an illegal demonstration last year was vacated.
Abdel-Fattah was one of the figureheads of Egypt's 2011 uprising, and among the defendants sentenced Sunday was his younger sister, Sanaa Abdel-Fattah. She is accused of organizing an illegal protest outside Cairo's Ittihadeya presidential palace last July.
Calling for Egyptian authorities to protect journalists, Psaki said the media should be permitted to freely do their jobs without the pressure of self-censorship.
Since former President Mohammed Morsi was toppled in a coup in July 2013, thousands of protestors have been detained for participating in anti-coup demonstrations and more than 1,000 Egyptians have been killed by security forces.
Dozens of newspapers and media outlets have been closed and the press has remained under government censorship while several journalists have been arrested for covering events.
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