Egyptian-American Activist Returns to Cairo to Stand Trial for Democracy Promotion

Three months after United States diplomats in Cairo brokered a deal to allow 11 Americans to leave Egypt without standing trial for promoting democracy without a license, an Egyptian-American also charged in the case was detained as he returned to the country to proclaim his innocence.

The activist, Sherif Mansour, was employed until last week by Freedom House, one of a handful of foreign-financed nonprofit groups that operated in Egypt for years without official permission. Late last year, heavily armed riot police officers raided the offices of several foreign-financed nonprofit organizations, including the four American groups, seizing money, files and computers. Dozens of local and foreign employees were arrested in the raids and treated as criminals for running programs to foster democracy and civil society.

Although most of the Americans, and some other foreigners, were allowed to leave the country after paying millions of dollars in bail, more than a dozen Egyptians are due in court on Tuesday to stand trial. Mr. Mansour, who was working in Washington as the time of the raids, decided to quit his job there and return to Cairo to stand trial with the other Egyptians.

He reported on his Twitter feed late Sunday that he had been detained on arrival at the airport in Cairo and posted images of the “rats room” at the terminal where he was forced to spend the night.

Nancy Okail, the Egyptian director of the Freedom House office in Cairo, explained on Twitter that Mr. Mansour would spend the night in a police station and “they will bring him straight to court early tomorrow to join us in the cage.”

Before he left Washington, Mr. Mansour told The Associated Press: “The image that people have now of civil society is what has been published in the media about the case. It’s the photo of the Americans, the foreigners leaving the airport on a special jet, avoiding the trial.” He added: “By returning, I want to challenge that image.”