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Egyptian court acquits 40 NGO workers whose case strained ties with U.S.
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS DECEMBER 20, 2018 / 4:17 AM / UPDATED 35 MINUTES AGO
Egyptian court acquits 40 NGO workers whose case strained ties with U.S.
Amina Ismail, Haitham Ahmed
3 MIN READ
CAIRO (Reuters) - Forty NGO workers, including at least 15 Americans, were cleared on Thursday by an Egyptian court in a case concerning the work of groups promoting democracy in the country.
In 2013, a group of 43 Americans, Europeans, Egyptians and other Arabs were sentenced to jail terms ranging from one to five years on charges including operating non-governmental organizations without necessary approval.
NGOs have felt exposed since late 2011, when authorities raided 17 pro-democracy and rights groups, accusing them of joining a foreign conspiracy against Egypt after the uprising that toppled veteran leader Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt’s crackdown on organizations including U.S.-based groups linked to the United States’ two main political parties caused outrage in Washington, which supplies Cairo with $1.3 billion in military aid each year.
The groups included the U.S.-based International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Freedom House. Their offices were ordered to close.
-snip-
Egyptian court acquits 40 NGO workers whose case strained ties with U.S.
Amina Ismail, Haitham Ahmed
3 MIN READ
CAIRO (Reuters) - Forty NGO workers, including at least 15 Americans, were cleared on Thursday by an Egyptian court in a case concerning the work of groups promoting democracy in the country.
In 2013, a group of 43 Americans, Europeans, Egyptians and other Arabs were sentenced to jail terms ranging from one to five years on charges including operating non-governmental organizations without necessary approval.
NGOs have felt exposed since late 2011, when authorities raided 17 pro-democracy and rights groups, accusing them of joining a foreign conspiracy against Egypt after the uprising that toppled veteran leader Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt’s crackdown on organizations including U.S.-based groups linked to the United States’ two main political parties caused outrage in Washington, which supplies Cairo with $1.3 billion in military aid each year.
The groups included the U.S.-based International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Freedom House. Their offices were ordered to close.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-usa/egyptian-court-acquits-40-ngo-workers-whose-case-strained-ties-with-u-s-idUSKCN1OJ0WR