Egypt drops decade-old charges against NGOs
An Egyptian investigative judge recently dropped charges against 20 NGOs involved in the 2011 foreign funding case that has raised global condemnation, in a move seen as a gesture of goodwill to the United States in order to unfreeze military aid.
Judicial authorities in Egypt recently dropped charges against 20 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the 2011 case, known as the “foreign funding” case, a few months following a similar decision in December 2020 to conclude investigations with another 20 NGOs in the same case.
The decision of the investigating judge, Ali Mokhtar, on March 30 settled the investigation for lack of grounds for a criminal case or insufficient evidence.
The new ruling involves removing the names of those included in the travel ban, watch lists and asset freeze.
Mokhtar said in a statement following the ruling that civil society plays a pivotal role in sustainable development. Mokhtar urged all Egyptian and foreign organizations, groups, associations, unions and entities to immediately settle their situation with the authorities as per the law.
