Egypt slaps travel ban on US group

citizens. One is Sam LaHood, the IRI’s Egypt director who is the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
“It is a de facto detention,” the member of an NGO in Cairo told Reuters, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.
The judges investigating the case have charged the four with managing an unregistered NGO and being paid employees of an unregistered organisation, charges that could carry up to five years in jail, he said. The IRI had no immediate comment.
The group is in Egypt and has been forbidden to travel outside the country.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Press yesterday hailed the “revival” of the revolution after massive crowds took to the streets to demand democratic changes, a year after the start of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
“The revolution continues,” trumpeted the independent daily Al-Shorouq, saying millions of Egyptians wanted to see “the end of military rule.”
“The people want the continuation of the revolution,” proclaimed the state-owned Al-Ahram, above a large picture of massive crowds thronging Tahrir Square – the symbolic heart of the Egyptian protests.
On January 25 last year, nationwide rallies kicked off the uprising that would change the course of the Arab world’s most populous nation, bringing closer ambitions for democratic change.
But a year later, many are disenchanted and even angry at the ruling military, who protesters accuse of reneging on promises of reform and of rights abuses.
Protesters spent a peaceful night in Tahrir Square, despite weeks of warnings by the military council and state media of possible trouble on the day.
Several pro-democracy groups have called a sit-in in the square until Friday when another rally is planned. – Reuters-AFP.