Human Rights First Welcomes Acquittals in Egypt Foreign Funding Case

Washington, D.C.—Human Rights First today welcomed the acquittal of dozens of NGO workers in Egypt who were convicted in 2013. Human Rights First has advocated for years for the convictions to be overturned, and continues to urge the Trump Administration to condition military aid to Egypt on meaningful human rights reform. The organization notes that the politically trumped-up charges should never have been brought.

“Today’s acquittals are a genuinely good sign, especially when taken with yesterday’s decision to release human rights defender Amal Fathy from jail,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. “But the Egyptian government still has far, far to go to rectify years of human rights abuse. Egypt’s prisons are crammed full of political prisoners, and torture in detention is routine. Today’s acquittals of those accused of taking foreign funding is very welcome, but others have been charged on the same grounds since, and still face the prospect of long prison sentences.”

Human Rights First calls on the Trump Administration to push for others still charged with accepting foreign funding for their human rights work to have their convictions overturned.

Human Rights First released a report in September 2018 with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights, detailing human rights abuses in Egypt and what steps the U.S. government should take to prevent them.