Egyptian-American released from prison in Cairo after appeal

CAIRO, Egypt -- An Egyptian-American sociologist awaiting retrial on charges of tarnishing Egypt's image said Wednesday he was considering applying for leave to travel abroad for medical treatment.\nSaad Eddin Ibrahim was released from prison Tuesday after an Egyptian appeals court overturned his conviction and seven-year sentence and ordered a retrial. The conviction had also been for accepting foreign money without government approval and embezzling funds.\nInternational rights groups had condemned Ibrahim's conviction as politically motivated, and the case has strained ties between Egypt and the United States.\nIbrahim, who turned 64 on Tuesday, walks with a cane and suffers from a neurological disorder that prevents sufficient oxygen from reaching the deeper recesses of the brain. His family says he suffered several small strokes while in prison.\nIbrahim said he may ask for permission to travel before or on the first day of his retrial, which is scheduled to start Jan. 7. It will be his third trial on the charges.\nHe has sought permission to travel several times during his protracted legal battles and has not been successful. The state has held his Egyptian and U.S. passports since he was first detained in July 2000.\nA professor at American University in Cairo, Ibrahim was first convicted May 21, 2001. He appealed but was convicted again July 29.\nThe State Security Court said then that Ibrahim falsely claimed that Egypt persecutes its Christian Coptic minority and mistreats human rights groups.\nIbrahim founded and directed the Cairo-based Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, which campaigned for political and economic reform in the Arab world.\nHe and 27 others were arrested in July 2000 after announcing they would monitor Egypt's 2000 parliamentary elections. The center had said the 1995 elections were rigged.\nFollowing Ibrahim's second conviction, President Bush said the United States would protest by opposing aid to Egypt beyond the $2 billion it receives from Washington each year.\nC. David Welch, the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, issued a statement welcoming Tuesday's order for a retrial.