EGYPT: Court acquits 40 NGO workers after retrial

An Egyptian court has acquitted 40 pro-democracy NGO workers, in a retrial of a long-running case that has strained the country’s relations with the United States. In 2013, 43 Americans, Europeans, Egyptians and other Arabs were sentenced to jail terms ranging from one to five years on various charges, including operating non-governmental organisations (NGOs) without […]

An Egyptian court has acquitted 40 pro-democracy NGO workers, in a retrial of a long-running case that has strained the country’s relations with the United States. In 2013, 43 Americans, Europeans, Egyptians and other Arabs were sentenced to jail terms ranging from one to five years on various charges, including operating non-governmental organisations (NGOs) without necessary approval. Their offices were ordered to close.

In April, Egypt’s top appeal court overturned the jail sentences of 16 of the workers and ordered their retrial.

Many of the defendants, including at least 15 Americans, left Egypt at the time and received five-year sentences in absentia. The remaining three defendants who were not acquitted on Thursday are among those who were sentenced in absentia, but did not apply for a retrial, a judicial source said.