The Associated Press reported that as many as 19 Americans would stand trial alongside Egyptian colleagues. View photos of turbulence in the new Egypt.
Πηγή: Washington Post
By Ernesto Londono
Feb 5 2012
The announcement came a day after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned the Egyptian Foreign Ministry that failure to quickly resolve the probe could jeopardize the more than $1.3 billion Egypt expects to get this year in U.S. aid.
“We are very clear that there are problems that arise from this situation that can impact all the rest of our relationship in Egypt,” Clinton told reporters while attending an international conference in Munich in which she met with her Egyptian counterpart. “We don’t want that.”
The Associated Press reported that as many as 19 Americans would stand trial alongside Egyptian colleagues. Egyptian authorities did not disclose the specific charges or say whether indictments or arrest warrants have been issued. Pro-democracy NGOs have long operated openly but unofficially in Egypt, because Cairo has refused to grant them licenses.
The investigation is being watched closely by the Obama administration in part because one of the Americans under investigation is the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Sam LaHood, the country director of the International Republican Institute, a pro-democracy organization, was barred from leaving the country last month. Several other Americans are on a no-fly list.
Fearing they could be arrested, at least three of the U.S. citizens under investigation have sought shelter at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
Egyptian officials raided 17 offices last month as part of their crackdown on NGOs that receive foreign funding. These include the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, which train political parties and otherwise promote stronger governance.
The investigation has triggered unusually blunt warnings from Capitol Hill to a nation that has for years been seen as a stalwart ally.
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