In at least one case, an NGO worker was arrested. The offices were sealed off and closed, at least temporarily.
U.S. officials and Egypt’s ruling generals have been feuding for months over the funding of NGOs. Egyptian authorities want to control the distribution of cash to civil groups. Justice Minister Mohamed Abdel Aziz el-Gendy recently accused local NGOs of taking foreign money and using it to sow unrest during a period when the military was being criticized for using deadly force against protesters.
Alarm, anger in Washington
U.S. officials said the raids could increase congressional resistance to providing military and economic assistance to a country that is among the top recipients of American aid. A number of congressional leaders were threatening to cut funding to Egypt after a mob attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo in September and amid lingering questions about the Egyptian military’s commitment to democracy.
The State Department has previously criticized attacks on nongovernmental groups inside Egypt, but the targeting of U.S.-backed organizations was viewed with particular alarm. Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, said the groups attacked Thursday were seeking to foster the development of democratic institutions and traditions and had been “very open and transparent with Egyptian authorities at all levels.”
On Thursday night, the director of NDI’s office in Egypt, Julie Hughes, was at a police station filing a report and trying to recover computers and other items seized from the group’s offices, said Les Campbell, NDI’s director for Middle East and North Africa programs.
“I see this as a high-stakes negotiation. The Egyptian government is looking for ways to get assistance, but on their terms,” Campbell said.
He added that NDI had been summoned to the Justice Ministry for questioning and that the group was being transparent with the government about its operations. NDI opened an office in Egypt in 2005.
“Cracking down on organizations whose sole purpose is to support the democratic process during Egypt’s historic transition sends a disturbing signal,” NDI President Kenneth Wollack said in a statement.
‘New attack on freedoms’
Helmy el-Rawy, executive director of the Egyptian Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory, said four vehicles with police and military commandos rolled up to the group’s office and posted men with AK-47 assault rifles outside. Rawy said the security forces confiscated all documents and computers and arrested an economics researcher, Ahmed Ali, the only person in the office.
“This is a new attack on freedoms in Egypt, and it targets the mouths trying to reveal the military council’s violations,” Rawy said.
The Justice Ministry began a probe into foreign funding of civic organizations about four months ago, focusing on at least 39 groups and activists, according to reports leaked to local media outlets.
If the organizations under investigation are found at fault, they could be closed or fined and their members could face jail time, said Heba Morayef, an Egypt researcher for Human Rights Watch.
“We’ve never had such a broad-based investigation into the human rights and NGO community,” Morayef said. “The entire independent civil society could be shut down.”
Warrick reported from Washington. Special correspondent Ingy Hassieb in Cairo contributed to this report.
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