Egyptian court convicts 43 NGO employees

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Last edited Tue Jun 4, 2013, 10:57 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: BBC News

A court in Cairo has convicted 43 Egyptian and foreign employees of non-governmental (NGO) organisations for working illegally in Egypt.

The court sentenced the defendants - most of them in absentia - to jail terms of up to five years.

It also ordered the closure of offices and the seizure of assets in Egypt belonging to several US NGOs.

The case - which began in 2012 - has strained relations between Cairo and Washington.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22765161

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A Cairo criminal court has convicted 43 NGO workers, including at least 16 Americans, of operating without a licence and receiving foreign funding. The case had sparked international outrage, souring relations between Egypt and the US, and inflaming domestic fears over the potential for foreign funding to influence internal political affairs.

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The case dates back to December 2011 when police conducted armed raids on 17 NGO offices across Cairo, detaining employees and seizing equipment. Forty-three workers, drawn from organisations including the US-government-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Freedom House, were eventually put on trial for operating illegally in Egypt.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/04/egypt-convicts-us-ngo-workers-sam-lahood