Is Egypt's judiciary going soft on NGOs?
The acquittal verdict of 43 nongovernmental organization workers and the launch of community dialogues on amending a law curbing NGOs pave the way for a new chapter between the regime and NGOs in Egypt.
CAIRO — The first round of community dialogue involving the participation of a thousand nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on amending Egyptian law No. 70 of 2017 on NGOs and civil society organizations started Dec. 22.
This came less than a month after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi instructed the government at the conclusion of World Youth Forum on Nov. 5 to set up a committee tasked with developing a comprehensive vision and holding community dialogues to amend the law.
The round also came two days after the Cairo Criminal Court in Egypt acquitted all 43 defendants accused in the “foreign funding” case during Egypt's 2011 uprising.
The case involved 43 NGO staff. Along with Egyptian nationals, the defendants included at least 16 Americans, along with Germans, Serbs, Norwegians and Palestinians.
