NGO foreign funding case further sours US-Egyptian relations, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky Ashraf El-Ashmawi and Sameh Abu Zeid, the two judges tasked with investigating the high profile case of NGOs accused of receiving illegal funding, say the defendants were referred to the criminal court in line with Egypt's penal code and not the controversial NGO law, adding that the charges against the staff could lead to five- year prison sentences. "These organisations conducted unlicensed and illegal activities without the knowledge of the Egyptian government," said El-Ashmawi. US Ambassador Anne Patterson has urged the Egyptian government to lift the travel ban placed on defendants. The US media has also reported that US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta called the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) head, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and urged him to annul the travel ban. "This is illegal. Patterson violated Egyptian laws that stipulate that ambassadors of foreign countries cannot directly address the judiciary," says Abu Zeid. He added that the matter had been referred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Forty-three NGO employees are named in the indictment prepared by a special committee investigating "illegal foreign funding". They are employed by American and European organisations that have been charged with operating in Egypt without licences. The indictment also names five foreign NGOs which are said to have received millions of pounds of funds from abroad under the names of employees and not through their official bank accounts. "Documents confiscated during the raids on the NGOs offices confirm illegal foreign funding," says El-Ashmawi. They also showed that foreign workers employed by the NGOs deliberately had tourist not work visas, and did not pay taxes. The list includes 19 Americans, including Sam LaHood, Egypt director of the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the son of US Transport Secretary Ray LaHood. They are joined by five Serbs, two Germans, two Lebanese, one Jordanian, one Palestinian and 14 Egyptians, all of whom are banned from travel or have been placed on incoming watch- lists. Some of the American accused have taken refuge in the US embassy in Cairo to avoid being detained. Other foreign workers were already out of Egypt. The IRI and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) are among the organisations accused of receiving $40 million over six months to support Egypt's transition to democracy. The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, a German organisation, has been charged with distributing one million Euros to unlicensed Egyptian NGOs across Egypt. A senior NDI official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Egyptian government had allowed both NDI and IRI to operate in Egypt in March to observe the referendum on constitutional amendments. Les Campbell, NDI's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, points out that "we were invited and accredited by the Egyptian government as observers of parliamentary elections and Shura Council elections" which took place two weeks ago. NDI, he added, condemned the "many false accusations spread in Egypt's state controlled media that NDI was working with Tahrir Square protesters". Another of the accused groups, the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), has worked closely with Egyptian state and independent media and with the Press Syndicate for a decade. Five of its employees, three Americans and two Egyptians, stand accused of receiving illegal funds from the US. "The three Americans named in this case have never worked full-time in Egypt for ICFJ although they have been described as escaping the country," said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan. She added that Vice President of ICFJ Programmes Patrick Butler, former programme director Natasha Tynes and contractor Michelle Betz have supervised Egypt programmes as part of a larger portfolio of work done from Washington. "We have been seeking permission to register in Egypt. We have always been transparent about our work which was mainly conducted through Egyptian partners, including universities and media organisations," she added. Barnathan said that while ICFJ does not have all the details of the accusations a strong legal team is already working on the case. Following the closure of the offices of the indicted organisations by the Egyptian judicial authorities their activities will be on hold for at least a year according to a former American diplomat in Washington. He added that the US government would not allow most of these organisations to continue their work in Egypt until a new NGO law is passed by parliament. "In my estimation until the freedom of association atmosphere in Egypt changes these organisation will not be back and will not be able to fund local organisations," he added. The People's Assembly is expected to review the law regulating the work of NGOs which obliges them to secure the approval of the Egyptian government before accepting foreign funding. But with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in control of parliament many expect current restrictions on NGO activity to remain in place. "The MB and other Islamists see funds from the US and EU as empowering liberals and will not allow this kind of assistance to reach pro-democracy groups without their supervision," he says. Marina Ottaway, an expert at the Washington based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, agrees. She points out that the NGOs involved were being funded by US money earmarked for economic aid that, under current agreements, could only go to NGOs licensed by the Egyptian government. "While questions can be raised why the United States agreed to allow the Egyptian government to choose who could receive US aid, the deal was in place."
