“This case is important for all Egyptians,” one of the investigating judges bellowed over the din in the courtroom jammed with family and supporters of the accused and dozens of journalists.
The U.S. government has repeatedly told Egypt that the charges are outrageous, and that the NGOs, including the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, were operating to assist Egyptians in their transition to democracy.
Members of the U.S. Congress, including Senator John McCain who flew to Cairo earlier this month, have threatened that if the American citizens are not acquitted it is highly unlikely that Congress will approve next year’s U.S. aid package to Egypt of $1.55-billion.
Judge Mahmud Mohamed Shukry adjourned the trial until April 26 at the end of the session in the rowdy chamber, where television reporters crowded around him and an interior ministry official threatened to expel journalists.
His decision could give more time for a diplomatic solution to the case, lawyers said.
For more: Egypt’s charges against democracy activists set stage for U.S. showdown - The Globe and Mail
Showing posts with label The awakening of the Middle East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The awakening of the Middle East. Show all posts
2/27/12
2/6/12
Egypt's NGO Crackdown May Mean Icy Reception For Military Delegation On Capitol Hill
A visiting delegation of Egyptian military officials, in the United States for a routine tour and consultations, are likely to receive a rough welcome when they arrive on Capitol Hill this week for the last leg of their American venture.
On Sunday, the Egyptian government indicated that they would press ahead with criminal prosecutions in the case of some 40 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, who stand accused of working without proper licensing. Many had been repeatedly rebuffed when attempting to register with Egypt's convoluted bureaucracy in the past.
Officials with the NGOs have denied the charges ever since armed security personnel raided their offices in Cairo in late December.
The visiting military delegation -- part of a regularly scheduled and routine tour of meetings with American governmental officials and defense companies that contract with the Egyptian government -- can expect their reception to be less diplomatic than on previous trips to the Hill. Under normal circumstances, the visits are low-profile affairs, with the delegation meeting staffers or perhaps a legislator from a district hoping to secure a military contract, according to people familiar with the visits.
For more: Egypt's NGO Crackdown May Mean Icy Reception For Military Delegation On Capitol Hill
On Sunday, the Egyptian government indicated that they would press ahead with criminal prosecutions in the case of some 40 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, who stand accused of working without proper licensing. Many had been repeatedly rebuffed when attempting to register with Egypt's convoluted bureaucracy in the past.
Officials with the NGOs have denied the charges ever since armed security personnel raided their offices in Cairo in late December.
The visiting military delegation -- part of a regularly scheduled and routine tour of meetings with American governmental officials and defense companies that contract with the Egyptian government -- can expect their reception to be less diplomatic than on previous trips to the Hill. Under normal circumstances, the visits are low-profile affairs, with the delegation meeting staffers or perhaps a legislator from a district hoping to secure a military contract, according to people familiar with the visits.
For more: Egypt's NGO Crackdown May Mean Icy Reception For Military Delegation On Capitol Hill
9/1/11
Saudi Arabia's Revolutionary Triage - "the writing on the wall is ignored"
The house of Saud is pulling out all the stops to strengthen its legitimacy as the tsunami of revolution sweeps Arabia. As the self-proclaimed "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in Mecca, protecting and developing the Grand Mosque is a way of underscoring the royal family's God-given right to rule. But trouble is closing in all around the royals.
This summer King Abdullah dedicated the new Royal Clock Tower in Mecca. The world’s second-tallest building (behind Dubai), it measures over six hundred meters and can be seen from all parts of the city. Bigger than Big Ben, it’s a symbol of Saudi power for every hajji making the pilgrimage to Mecca.
As the king reaffirms Saudi Islamic credentials, his brother Interior Minister Prince Nayef gave a recent interview describing the kingdom as surrounded on all sides by enemies. Without giving any details, Nayef said the country remains at high risk from al-Qaeda. The interior minister is the voice of the kingdom’s hard-liners, who see only peril and folly in reform and the Arab awakening. He quashed the Manama uprising last March in tiny Bahrain.
And the family's biggest headache won't go away: Yemen, which is boiling this summer. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been recovering in Saudi hospitals from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt last spring, refuses to give up power and threatens to return home. His son commands those troops remaining loyal to the regime in Sanaa and is preparing for full-scale civil war. The opposition is arming just as furiously. Saudi Arabia has invested billions in trying to rent Yemeni politicians for decades, but it now seems powerless to stop the slide into chaos. Saleh is oblivious to Saudi calls for peaceful change. No wonder building towers and mosques seems so much simpler.
For more: Commentary: Saudi Arabia's Revolutionary Triage | The National Interest
This summer King Abdullah dedicated the new Royal Clock Tower in Mecca. The world’s second-tallest building (behind Dubai), it measures over six hundred meters and can be seen from all parts of the city. Bigger than Big Ben, it’s a symbol of Saudi power for every hajji making the pilgrimage to Mecca.
As the king reaffirms Saudi Islamic credentials, his brother Interior Minister Prince Nayef gave a recent interview describing the kingdom as surrounded on all sides by enemies. Without giving any details, Nayef said the country remains at high risk from al-Qaeda. The interior minister is the voice of the kingdom’s hard-liners, who see only peril and folly in reform and the Arab awakening. He quashed the Manama uprising last March in tiny Bahrain.
And the family's biggest headache won't go away: Yemen, which is boiling this summer. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been recovering in Saudi hospitals from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt last spring, refuses to give up power and threatens to return home. His son commands those troops remaining loyal to the regime in Sanaa and is preparing for full-scale civil war. The opposition is arming just as furiously. Saudi Arabia has invested billions in trying to rent Yemeni politicians for decades, but it now seems powerless to stop the slide into chaos. Saleh is oblivious to Saudi calls for peaceful change. No wonder building towers and mosques seems so much simpler.
For more: Commentary: Saudi Arabia's Revolutionary Triage | The National Interest
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