NGO trials 'politically motivated': Egypt rights groups

Egyptian human rights groups condemned on Wednesday the impending trial of 43 democracy activists as "politically motivated", accusing the authorities of intentionally misleading the public to maintain power.

The trial is part of an investigation by Egyptian authorities into the alleged illegal funding of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Egypt.

In December, prosecutors and special forces raided 17 NGO offices and confiscated their equipment, announcing last month that dozens including Egyptians, Americans and other nationalities had been refered to a criminal court.

In a statement, 29 human rights groups including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, condemned the trial as "politically motivated" and accused the authorities of conducting a smear campaign against rights advocates.

"Even before the trial has begun, the ministry of justice, other government parties and the two investigating judges have been conducting a one-sided trial in the media for the last five months, making vague accusations," they  said.

The probe was done with "the goal of smearing civil society, especially human rights organisations, and painting them as collaborators with foreign agendas and conspirators against the country's stability," they wrote. "This is a flagrant violation of the law and investigation rules."

The rights groups said the investigation and trials aim to suggest the existence of a "wide-ranging conspiracy targeting the stability and unity of the country and to paint international civil society groups as a danger to state security."

"The orchestration of fictitious battles with other states to distract attention from the catastrophic failure of the political administration and from the daily massacre of Egyptians without accountability... cannot in any way be a national objective," they said. "Rather it serves the interest of a small faction that seeks to seize power and wealth without accountability and oversight."

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