WASHINGTON, Feb 7: Top US Senator John Kerry warned Egypt’s military rulers on Tuesday that the planned trial of pro-democracy activists was a “slap in the face” for America that could damage a vital relationship.

Egyptian justices have announced plans to put dozens of pro-democracy activists, including 19 Americans, on trial over alleged illegal funding to foreign aid groups.

The row has led some US lawmakers to openly question the crucial Egypt-US partnership that has anchored America’s Middle East policy for a generation and helped keep the peace between Israel and its Arab neighbours.

“I am alarmed by the attacks against civil society in Egypt,” Kerry, the influential head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in prepared remarks in Congress.

“Yesterday’s prosecutions are a slap in the face to Americans who have supported Egypt for decades and to Egyptian individuals and NGOs who have put their futures on the line for a more democratic Egypt,” said Kerry.

“This is a dangerous game that risks damaging both Egypt’s democratic prospects and the US-Egyptian bilateral relationship.” Senator Lindsey Graham, a top Republican on the key senate committee, warned that US assistance to Egypt could be cut if activists end up being imprisoned.

“If anybody goes to jail I think there’ll be a backlash you can’t contain,” Graham told reporters.

Asked if that meant scrapping $1.3 billion in military aid that Washington provides to its key Arab ally, Graham replied: “Yes, I think very much at risk.” “The red line for me is incarceration. If any American or NGO (non-governmental organisation) staff member is pre-trial confined or post-trial confined, that’s just an absolute overreaction,” he added.—AFP