Egypt lifts travel ban on NGO defendants
Financial Times
By Borzou Daragahi

Egyptian prosecutors lifted a travel ban on American defendants in a controversial trial against western and Egyptian civil society organisations on Wednesday, a day after all three judges withdrew from the case.
 
Sixteen of the 43 NGO employees facing charges are American, and the removal of the travel ban is likely to defuse the crisis in US-Egyptian relations triggered by the trial

The controversial case began in late December when Egyptian security forces raided the offices of 17 NGOs, including those of the National Democratic Institute, the International Republic Institute and Freedom House, all funded by the US government. A group of 16 Americans and 27 Egyptians and others were charged with illegally obtaining funding from abroad and not being properly licensed through the government.

The trial has strained the relationship between Egypt and the US, which has hinted that it could cut off $1.3bn in annual aid to the country’s military.

Judge Mohammad Shoukry and his two deputies abruptly recused themselves late on Tuesday from the trial. They did not cite their reasons.
 
“The judges legally have the right to withdraw without giving a reason,” said Abdel-Karim al-Kordy, one of the defence lawyers. “What the reason is behind this, we don’t know.”
 
Though an appeals court may quickly reassign the case to another judge, many speculated that the recusal could provide Egyptian authorities with an excuse to drop the matter, or at least delay it.
 
Under Egyptian law, a judge may recuse himself without disclosing the reasons, which could range from having a familial relationship to one of the defendants to feeling he cannot adequately adjudicate the case because of its political nature. Mr Kordy said that a judge could also recuse himself if he felt the case had no merit.
 
At the end of the chaotic first hearing on Sunday, Judge Shoukry said the trial would be postponed until April 26 to give jurists time to translate and read evidence.
 
Meanwhile, Egypt has set May 23-24 as the date for the first presidential election since the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak last year. The president will be named on June 21st.

Additional reporting by Dena Elsisy in Cairo