An Egyptian court “convicted and sentenced to jail 43 nonprofit workers, including 16 Americans” linked to the NGO raids on December 29, 2011. Those convicted were tried on charges of “using foreign funds to foment unrest.” Most of the NGO workers convicted were sentenced in absentia to five years in prison, though eleven received suspended sentences of one year. The three-judge panel also ordered the closure of the local offices for the NGOs involved in the raid.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry commented that “the United States is deeply concerned by the guilty verdicts and sentences, including the suspended sentences, handed down by an Egyptian court against 43 NGO representatives in what was a politically-motivated trial.” Kerry added, “This decision runs contrary to the universal principle of freedom of association and is incompatible with the transition to democracy.”