Egypt's state security prosecutor should immediately close “treason” investigations into Egyptian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) accused of receiving foreign funding. The Egyptian cabinet announced on September 14, 2011, that a Justice Ministry report had identified more than 30 NGOs that are receiving foreign funding and are not registered with the Social Solidarity Ministry as required by the Associations Law and that it had submitted this information to the prosecutor. The offense is punishable with imprisonment under Egypt's Associations Law. Restricting foreign funding can effectively deny civil society groups the ability to operate since under former President Hosni Mubarak, local funding sources shied away from funding controversial groups, Human Rights Watch said. “It sends alarming signals about the transitional government's commitment to human rights that Egyptian authorities have started a criminal investigation with the same methods Hosni Mubarak used to strangle civil society,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Egypt should reform the Associations Law to protect civil society's independence and freedom instead of tightening the screws further and threatening criminal prosecution.” Under the Law of Associations, the Social Solidarity Ministry has the right to block funding for a variety of reasons including if it decides the purpose of the funding falls outside the organization's stated mandate. That has led routinely to the arbitrary blocking of funds to projects and organizations dealing with crucial and sensitive human rights violations, such as torture. On September 22, the Egyptian daily Al-Fagr published a leaked copy of the Justice Ministry's fact-finding committee report, listing 39 groups not registered under the Associations Law. The list includes some of Egypt's most reputable human rights organizations. The newspaper named several groups that are accused of receiving foreign funds without prior authorization. The government has long denied registration to groups it considers controversial, including many independent human rights organizations. The investigation, about which few details have been officially announced, is being conducted under provisions of the highly restrictive 2002 Associations Law, which criminalizes “NGO activities” by organizations not registered under the law and any receipt of foreign funds without prior official approval. Executives and employees of the organizations face imprisonment and a fine if convicted. The state security prosecutor announced on August 7 that he had started a “broad investigation” into complaints received by the public prosecutor from “state agencies” (gihat siyadiya). He accused organizations that “illegally [receive] funding from foreign sources” of “grand treason, conspiracy against Egypt and carrying out foreign agendas to harm Egyptian national security,” but did not name any of the groups in question. The state security prosecutor usually investigates cases of suspected armed groups or international organized crime and refers cases to the Emergency State Security Court, which was set up under the Emergency Law that has been in effect in Egypt for decades. The court operates outside the regular court system, with no right to appeal. On July 12, International Cooperation Minister Faiza Abul Naga, a long-serving minister under Mubarak, announced that she had requested creation of the fact-finding committee at the Justice Ministry to investigate the “direct foreign funding of unlicensed Egyptian and foreign NGOs operating in Egypt.” Earlier the same week, Social Solidarity Minister Gouda Abdel Khalek said in a news release that he had “decided to form a committee to review civil institutions and NGOs and consider tightening legal controls on foreign funding.” The Associations Law already provides excessive control of nongovernmental organizations' financing by requiring prior authorization for every individual grant or fund, Human Rights Watch said. Minutes of a July 27 cabinet meeting stated that the cabinet “fully rejects all forms of foreign intervention in internal affairs including direct foreign funding of all forms that is given to Egyptian and international organizations and civil society groups that operate in Egypt without authorization and in violation of Egyptian laws.” In early August, the Central Bank ordered all 39 banks operating in Egypt, domestic and foreign, to inform it and the Social Solidarity Ministry about any transactions on the accounts of the organizations that are not registered with the ministry and to check to determine whether the groups received authorization from the ministry to receive the funds. Over the past three weeks, private banks such as HSBC and Commercial International Bank have contacted at least four well-known independent human rights organizations that bank with them to inquire about incoming transfers of funding from foreign sources. On August 22, a group of 40 Egyptian NGOs submitted a complaint to the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of expression, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, saying that these investigations constitute serious threats to Egyptian civil society. “The fact that the organizations targeted have been criticizing the military for torture and military trials makes this investigation particularly suspect,” Stork said. “Many of the unregistered organizations are exactly the ones that will play a crucial role in observing Egypt's upcoming elections, and any interference with their freedom to operate will have a negative impact on the pre-elections environment.” The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by consensus in the General Assembly in 1998, provides in article 13 that states must ensure “the right, individually and in association with others, to solicit, receive, and utilize resources for the express purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Egyptian authorities should immediately start a process to amend Law 84 on Associations to bring it into compliance with international human rights standards by introducing a regime of registration by notification, restricting executive interference in nongovernmental organizations' operations, and protecting the financial independence of the groups while requiring financial transparency, Human Rights Watch said. Egyptian judges should apply the international standards of freedom of association, as set out also in the March 30 Constitutional Declaration, to strike down laws and rules such as Law 84, which authorizes arbitrary and disproportionate restrictions on freedom of association. “A government has no right to ban foreign funding of civil society groups,” Stork said. “Advance permission for foreign funding is an unnecessarily restrictive measure since there are other ways to regulate proper financing.” The Associations Law The Mubarak government used a complex set of interlocking laws, decrees, and emergency powers to stifle the exercise of freedom of association. Under Law 84 on Associations, the authorities prevented human rights groups and other organizations critical of government policies from receiving grants from foreign governments and foundations. The Interior Ministry's State Security Investigations (SSI) division frequently prevented the registration of independent human rights groups under the law, including many of the unregistered groups in question. Because of constant SSI surveillance, with many activists receiving regular phone calls from their SSI “desk officers,” potential Egyptian donors shied away from funding groups critical of the government for fear of reprisals. Many groups that the SSI prevented from registering as nongovernmental organizations, as well as some groups that were unwilling to do so, registered as law firms or non-profit companies. Since Mubarak was ousted in February, Egypt's new rulers, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), liberalized the Political Parties Law to facilitate the establishment of new political parties, and is amending the Trade Unions Law, but there have been no moves to amend the Associations Law. Justice Minister Abdelaziz al-Guindy confirmed to Human Rights Watch in a June 7 meeting that this was not among his legislative priorities. BM
