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CAIRO -- A decision by an Egyptian court to jail a number of non-governmental organizations (NGO) workers, including Westerners, over illegal operation and foreign funding is expected to wreck havoc on Egypt's relations with the West and is seen as a bad omen for the future of NGOs in Egypt.
Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Tuesday 43 NGO employees, including Egyptians and foreigners, from one to five years in prison over charges of receiving funds from foreign countries in violation of the Egyptian law and ordered closure of the five concerned NGOs with their branches.
"The decision will irritate Egypt's relations with the Western community which is completely convinced that their funding of NGOs are innocent grants to assist poor countries," Samir Ghattas, head of Maqdis Center for Strategic Studies, told Xinhua.
Ghattas added that the court order "incriminated" the activities of NGOs, arguing that it might lead other civil society organizations to withdraw from Egypt or find illegal ways for their funding.
Among the convicts were 19 Americans, including Sam LaHood, son of the U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, besides others from Germany, Serbia, Norway, Palestine and Egypt, most of whom were sentenced in absentia.
In its first official response, U.S. Department of State described the Egyptian court's decision as "politically-motivated" that violates the country's transition to democracy.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the guilty verdicts and sentences," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, adding that the Egyptian court decision "runs contrary to the universal principle of freedom of association and is incompatible with the transition to democracy."
For his part, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle slammed Tuesday's verdict, which included German nationals, as "harsh."
Gamal Salama, head of political science department at Suez University, told Xinhua that the court order would surely affect Egypt's ties with the West yet it was not politically-motivated as Kerry claimed.
"We cannot say the verdict has any political dimensions, as the ruling Muslim Brotherhood group has good relations with the West in general and the United States in particular," Salama argued.
Salama further said that "if the verdict had been politically- motivated, it would have considered the political compromises with the West."
However, human rights activist Ayman Aqeel, head of Cairo- based Maat Center for Constitutional and Legal Rights, was of the opinion that the verdict "was rather political than judicial."
"It will of course negatively affect the work of civil society organizations in Egypt and restrict their activities," the activist told Xinhua.
The case began in late 2011 under military rule after a police raid on 17 NGO offices in Egypt several months after the upheaval that ousted the regime of ex-president Hosni Mubarak.
Aqeel added that the court verdict would anger the states that used to operate in Egypt freely before the upheaval and provide aid to the Egyptian civil society.
"Did the government discover their presence all of a sudden?" he rhetorically wondered.
Human Rights First, a U.S.-based human rights organization, issued on Tuesday a statement condemning the convictions of the NGO employees, stressing the verdict "sends a threatening message to independent human rights groups in Egypt."
The convictions come as Egypt's Shura Council, the country's temporary legislative authority, is currently discussing a draft law that has recently been submitted by Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to regulate NGOs in Egypt.
The president-sponsored NGO bill came under attack from activists in Egypt and abroad as "hostile to freedom," while the European Union (EU) said the new law would "likely to undermine the work and funding of NGOs and the civil society in Egypt."
"The European bloc therefore urged Egypt to draft and adopt a new NGO law that is in line with international and regional standards, while stressing the crucial role that the civil society can play in Egypt's ongoing political transition program," EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said a statement Monday. |
