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Son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Barred from Leaving Egypt
(Washington Post) Leila Fadel - Sam LaHood, director of the Egyptian program of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, said Thursday he was prevented from leaving Egypt at Cairo airport Saturday along with at least five other Americans working for pro-democracy groups. IRI was one of three U.S.-based nonprofit groups in Cairo that were raided and shut down on Dec. 29 by Egyptian authorities, who accused the groups of using foreign funds to support unrest in Egypt. "To have a strategic U.S. ally issue bans against American citizens is deeply troubling," said Scott Mastic, IRI's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. This weekend, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the issue in a call with Egypt's foreign minister. President Obama also brought up the rights of NGOs specifically in a phone call last week. In private, State Department officials have told Egypt that its actions are jeopardizing U.S. aid to Egypt's military.