Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Waly dissolved 14 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Tuesday in Minya, Beni Suef and Damietta for being associated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, the Ahram Arabic news website reported. Twenty-one other NGOs in Qena, Fayoum and Daqahliya will have a new board of directors, so that they do not stop offering their social services. The decision follows a 2013 court decision to ban the Brotherhood's activities and to seize the assets of Brotherhood-linked organisations, the minister said. On 23 September 2013, the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters ordered a ban on Muslim Brotherhood activities, as well as the interim government's seizure of the group's assets and funds, with a panel to manage the frozen assets. In November of the same year, Egypt outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, labeling it a terrorist organisation. Waly said that the NGOs were dissolved after consulting the Union of Non-Governmental Organisations and Institutions. The decisions have not been applied yet, as an inventory is still being prepared of the concerned NGOs' assets. This is the fifth time that NGOs have been dissolved for the same reasons this year, after 169 organisations were dissolved for the first time in February. Up to 434 NGOs have been closed by court order so far, according to Ahram Arabic. In 2014, the government seized the assets of hundreds of charity groups and educational facilities suspected of association with the Brotherhood. Source: Ahram Online
