The Cairo Criminal Court ordered a retrial of the NGOs’ foreign funding case, and acquitted the 43 defendants from all charges.
The NGOs’ foreign funding case dates back to December 2011 when prosecutors, backed by the police, stormed the offices of 17 local and international NGOs, including the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, as well as Freedom House. The NGOs were accused of allegedly receiving illegal foreign funding.
The retrial verdict took place weeks after President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi approved the establishment of a committee to amend the NGOs Law, following one of the participant’s request during the second World Youth Forum held in Sharm El-Sheikh.
