US 'deeply concerned' about Egypt’s probe of NGOs

WASHINGTON

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday urged the Egyptian government to ease restrictions on civil society.

“I am deeply concerned by the deterioration in the human rights situation in Egypt in recent weeks and months, including the reported decision this week by the Egyptian government to reopen an investigation of Egyptian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) documenting human rights abuses and defending the freedoms enshrined in Egypt’s constitution,” Kerry said in a statement.

Kerry’s comments came after an Egyptian court re-opened an investigation into several NGOs and individuals launched in 2011 for receiving illegal funding from foreign sources.

The judicial committee overseeing the five-year investigation on Thursday ordered the freezing of assets of four Egyptian human rights activists and their families, including Hossam Bahgat, who founded the Egyptian Initiative for Personnel Rights (EIPR) in 2004, and Gamal Eid, who founded the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) also in 2004.

“This decision comes against a wider backdrop of arrests and intimidation of political opposition, journalists, civil society activists and cultural figures,” Kerry added.

He said these steps run contrary to Cairo’s “commitments to support the role of civil society in governance and development.”

Kerry warned that those restrictions on civil society activity would not produce stability or security, urging the government to work with civil society.

WASHINGTON

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday urged the Egyptian government to ease restrictions on civil society.

Kerry’s comments came after an Egyptian court re-opened an investigation into several NGOs and individuals launched in 2011 for receiving illegal funding from foreign sources.

“This decision comes against a wider backdrop of arrests and intimidation of political opposition, journalists, civil society activists and cultural figures,” Kerry added.

He said these steps run contrary to Cairo’s “commitments to support the role of civil society in governance and development.”

Kerry warned that those restrictions on civil society activity would not produce stability or security, urging the government to work with civil society.