CAIRO: Judge Sameh Abou Zeid, investigating the alleged illegal foreign funding of local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs), said Wednesday that inspecting their offices was legal according to the criminal procedural law. "Labeling this inspection as a ‘raid’ is inaccurate since the law gives us the authority to order the prosecution to inspect the NGOs …

CAIRO: A clampdown on human rights groups in Egypt has called into question the ruling military’s pledges of reform, drawing a torrent of criticism of its handling of the transition from Hosni Mubarak. Prosecutors backed by police special forces stormed 17 offices of 10 local and international non-governmental organizations on Thursday, confiscating computers and documents, …

CAIRO: Thirty-two rights groups condemned a raid on civil society organizations Thursday, promising to continue their work. Security forces and prosecutors raided 17 offices of rights groups and organizations on Thursday, including the offices of three US-funded groups promoting democracy, following official announcements about an investigation into illegal foreign funding. “This serious step marks the …

CAIRO: The United Nations, the United States and the European Union condemned security raids on 17 offices of pro-democracy and human rights groups in Egypt. The UN human rights body called Friday for an end to "heavy-handed" tactics. "Such behavior on the part of the authorities appears to be clearly designed to intimidate human rights …

CAIRO: Prosecutors and security forces raided Thursday five Egyptian and foreign non-profit organizations (NOG), confiscating equipment and documents, closing down one of them under allegations of receiving illegal foreign funding. The official news agency MENA said the offices of 17 NGOs were raided but only five could be confirmed by press time: the Egyptian Arab …