Egypt again postpones NGO trial

A Cairo court on Thursday delayed once again the case of 16 Americans and 27 other employees of nonprofit groups (NGOs) accused of fomenting unrest in Egypt. The case has plunged US-Egyptian relations to their lowest point in 30 years and has led to American threats to cut off $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt. The pressure was alleviated somewhat when Egypt allowed the American defendants to leave the country after posting nearly $5 million in bail. But Egyptian officials, who were sharply criticised for allowing the Americans to leave Egypt, have continued to pursue the case. Washington paid bail of about $330,000 for each of those US citizens as part of the deal allowing them to leave. “Those who ... saw their travel ban lifted and left the country last week will be informed of the trial date,” said an assistant to the court who asked not to be named. One lawyer said the case was likely to continue with the missing defendants being tried in absentia. “This is a serious case that harms Egypt national security interests. We will seek the toughest punishment for the accused,” a second lawyer, Magdy Ahmed Refa’i, said. Only one of the American defendants was in court during Thursday’s session, along with 14 of the 16 Egyptians charged in the case. After about 20 minutes of procedural matters, the judge ordered the prosecutors to ensure that all defendants attend the next hearing on April 10 and adjourned the trial. Nine of the 16 Americans were outside Egypt when the case was referred to court for trial and did not return to the country. Six more left last week when Egypt unexpectedly lifted a travel ban on all non-Egyptian defendants. One American, Robert Becker, opted to stay behind and was in court on Thursday. “Mr. Becker is a man we all respect,” said one of his supporters who asked not to be named. “I was one of the party members he trained. He taught us how to campaign during elections and what democratic governance means. He is a good man and respects Egyptians.” The decision to lift the travel ban and effectively let the American defendants avoid trial triggered a political storm within Egypt, with the ruling generals accused of succumbing to US pressure and interfering in the work of the judiciary. The trial opened on Feb.26, but the judge later stepped down, citing “uneasiness.” Judge Mahmoud Mohammed Shoukri later said in published comments that his action followed “political interference” in the case. The military has denied interfering in the proceedings, saying the entire case was in the hands of the judiciary. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Egypt to drop the charges against the non-governmental groups, which include National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute and Freedom House. “Egypt’s judges have in the past protected non-governmental groups and dismissed politicised charges against dissidents,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch in a statement on Thursday. “This is an opportunity to end a politicised saga by throwing out the case while parliament drafts a new law that will decriminalise peaceful activity by non-governmental groups,” he said. The group said the outrage caused by the lifting of the travel ban should not be “grounds to punish the workers.” The 43 defendants belong to five nonprofit groups, four American and one German. They are accused of receiving foreign funds without the knowledge of the Egyptian government in violation of the law governing the work of nonprofit organisations. They are also accused of using these funds to carry out illegal activity to foment unrest.