Egypt freezes assets of human rights defenders, NGOs

CAIRO: An Egyptian court froze assets of five prominent human rights defenders and three nongovernmental organisations on Saturday, provoking fears of an intensified crackdown on civil society.

They had been under renewed investigation for allegedly receiving foreign funds in a case that stretches back to 2011 and had caused a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Cairo.

European Union External Action Service criticised the decision in a statement.

“The increased pressure on independent Egyptian civil society, in particular human rights organisations and defenders, is not in line with Egypt’s commitments to promote and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms as guaranteed by its Constitution,” the EU diplomatic service said.

Rights denounced groups the quickly decision, with Amnesty International calling it “a shameless ploy to silence human rights activism”.

The rights activists are Hossam Bahgat, who founded the leading Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights NGO, Gamal Eid, Bahey el-Din Hassan, Mostafa al-Hassan and Abdel Hafez al-Tayel.

The NGOs are Bahey el-Din Hassan’s Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Mostafa al-Hassan’s Hisham Mubarak Law Centre and the Egyptian Centre for the Right to Education.

The court’s decision is a “reprehensible blow to Egypt’s human rights movement”, the London-based Amnesty said in a statement.

“These individuals may subsequently face prosecution and prison terms of up to life, equivalent to 25 years in Egypt.”

New York-based Human Rights Watch also criticised the decision. — AFP