Mccain: Egypt’s NGO case is full of holes
Prosecutors say rights groups stole Egyptian aid money.
CAIRO — The Egyptian prosecution’s summary of the case against at least 16 Americans and others from five democracy and human rights groups focuses largely on the testimony of their accusers, with evidence primarily limited to proof that the nongovernmental organizations used U.S. and other foreign funds on payrolls and rent.
The prosecution’s dossier also shows leaps of logic in a case that has imperiled a decades-long alliance with Washington and threatened Egypt with the loss of $1.5 billion in aid.
The case, for example, cites documents seized in December from one group, the International Republican Institute, that included Wikipedia maps of Egypt showing the country divided into four parts. While Egypt is typically described as comprising four regions — upper and lower Egypt, greater Cairo and the Suez Canal and Sinai region — the prosecution suggested the maps showed a plan to dismember the country.
The summary, compiled by the Office of the Investigating Judge of Egypt’s Ministry of Justice, sets the stage for the group trial, scheduled to begin Sunday. A copy was given to The New York Times by a person close to the investigation on condition of anonymity because of legal restrictions.
The primary force behind the prosecution is a holdover from the Mubarak regime, Fayza Abul Naga, who has continued to press the case against the democracy groups, despite opposition from military rulers worried about losing U.S. aid, most of which goes to the armed forces here. She is foremost among the 13 accusing witnesses, most of whom are also former Mubarak officials. Some are underlings of Abul Naga, who as minister of planning and international cooperation is in charge of dealing with foreign aid.
Abul Naga’s central accusation is that the groups were unregistered under Egyptian law, and that the U.S. groups were receiving some $150 million in aid diverted from the larger U.S. aid package to Egypt.
More than 40 defendants have been indicted on charges of illegal activity by foreign agents and face penalties of up to five years in jail. Three of the six accused Americans still in Egypt have taken refuge in the U.S. Embassy, including Sam Lahood of the Republican Institute. He is the son of Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood.
Democratization has been a goal of the Obama administration in Egypt, and the case against the Americans has infuriated many in Congress and the administration.
Their goal, according to the testimony in the dossier: “Bringing down the ruling regime in Egypt.”