Cairo - US Ambassador to Cairo Margaret Scobey told reporters Sunday the prison sentence issued against Egyptian human rights activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim was "disgraceful."

Scobey's comments came after her meeting in the Cairo headquarters of the Arab League with Mervat el-Talawi, coordinator of the Arab economic summit to be held in Kuwait on January 19-20, 2009.

Ibrahim, who heads the Ibn Khaldoun Centre for Development Studies, was sentenced Saturday in absentia to two years in jail on charges of "defaming Egypt's reputation."

He can pay 10,000 Egyptian pounds (1,900 dollars) to avoid imprisonment.

The court in Cairo said that it based its verdict on the report presented by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry which said Ibrahim made constant calls to the US administration to link its financial aid to Egypt to an improvement in the political situation in the country.

Ibrahim's defence team said he would appeal the sentence. (dpa)