Egypt Jails Islamic Activists

[dArKeR]

An Egyptian court on Thursday convicted 26 people, including three Britons, of trying to revive an outlawed Islamic group and sentenced them to one 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.

"We're not sad," said Nisbett, 29, who now goes by Yehiya Nisbett. "We've always known that they're oppressors. Now they are confirming that. Thank God for everything."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/25/world/main608568.shtml