U.S. concerned by sentencing of Saudi aid worker -State Dept.

The United States is concerned about reports on the sentencing of a Saudi aid worker by a counterterrorism court and is watching the case closely, the State Department said on Tuesday.

The aid worker, Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, was reportedly sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by a 20-year travel ban, according to a statement from State Department spokesman Ned Price. "As we have said to Saudi officials at all levels, freedom of expression should never be a punishable offense," he said.