Egypt convicts 43, including Americans, in NGO case

(Reuters) - An Egyptian court convicted 43 Americans, Europeans, Egyptians and other Arabs on Tuesday in a case against democracy promotion groups that plunged U.S.-Egyptian ties into their worst crisis in decades.

Judge Makram Awad gave five-year sentences to 27 defendants tried in absentia including 15 U.S. citizens. Another American who stayed for trial was given a two-year sentence but left Egypt on Tuesday on the advice of his lawyers. A German woman was also given a two-year sentence.

The Egyptian investigation focused on charges that the groups were operating without necessary approvals and had received funds from abroad illegally. Eleven Egyptians who faced lesser charges were handed one-year suspended sentences.

Beginning in late 2011, Egypt's crackdown on organizations which included U.S.-based groups linked to America's two main political parties caused outrage in Washington, which supplies Cairo with $1.3 billion in military aid each year.

The Americans sentenced in absentia include the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

At one point Egypt placed travel bans on the suspects, including U.S. citizens who took refuge in the U.S. embassy. They were allowed to leave the country on bail of $330,000 each, money that ultimately came from the U.S. government.

“The court ordered the closure of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the case, including the U.S.-based International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI) and ***Freedom House***.

Both NDI and IRI plan to challenge the verdict.”

So Freedom House isn’t challenging? Interesting.

Info on Freedom House:
http://watch.pair.com/FreedomHouse.html
More here:
http://mediachecker.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/25/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_House

International Republican Institute w/ links to the Democratic orgs and there’s more of them than republican:

The IRI operates as a political organization abroad, providing training and assistance to favoured political parties. As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, it plays no part in domestic U.S. politics. However, the majority of its board, staff and consultants are drawn from the Republican Party.[2] Its sister organization, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, draws mainly from the Democratic Party.

IRI works with the following organizations:
United States State Department
United States Agency for International Development
National Endowment for Democracy
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
International Foundation for Election Systems

In Europe, IRI has established a partnership with the European People’s Party (EPP).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Republican_Institute

International ACORN, Unions, International Freedom House and more were all involved in Arab Spring and coordinated by the State Department. ....

“...Shadi Hamid, director of research at the ***Brookings Doha Center***, a think-tank based in the Gulf.”

About Us - Brookings Doha Center

Based in Qatar, the Brookings Doha Center is an initiative of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., that advances high-quality, independent policy analysis and research on the Middle East. The Center maintains a reputation for policy impact and cutting-edge, field-oriented research on socioeconomic and geopolitical issues facing the broader Middle East, including relations with the United States.

The Brookings Doha Center International Advisory Council is co-chaired by H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of the State of Qatar, and Brookings President Strobe Talbott. Members include: Madeleine Albright, Samuel Berger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Edward Djerejian, Wajahat Habibullah, Musa Hitam, Pervez Hoodhboy, Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, Nemir Kirdar, Rami Khouri, Atta-ur-Rahman, Ismail Serageldin and Fareed Zakaria. Salman Shaikh serves as the center’s director.
http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/doha/about

“The other defendants sentenced in absentia included citizens of Norway, Serbia, Germany and Arab states.”

“The U.S.-based groups were training Egyptians in advocacy, voter education and election monitoring.”

International Acorn, Unions, International Freedom, IRI and oother institutes, such as, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, and the Center for International Private Enterprise. They provide technical assistance to political bodies worldwide.

The majority of the IRI’s funding comes from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US State Department, and the National Endowment for Democracy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Republican_Institute

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