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.
Now, Judge Mohamed Ali al-Fiki has cleared 40 defendants of all charges at a re-trial, including at the least 15 Americans who left Egypt and had received their sentences in absentia.
The re-trial came about after Egypt’s top appeal court overturned the jail sentences of 16 of the workers in April and ordered the new hearing.
“This is a breath of fresh air, I am happy,” said British-Egyptian Hafsa Halawa, a former NDI program assistant, and one of the defendants.
“We have all kept our heads down for several years to let this try and blow over.”
READ MORE – Egyptian court acquits 40 NGO workers whose case strained ties with U.S.
Share this
