Egypt rights groups blast raids on NGO offices

[December 30, 2011]  CAIRO (AP) -- Several Egyptian rights groups on Friday accused the country's ruling military council of using Hosni Mubarak-era "repressive tools" in waging an "unprecedented campaign" against pro-democracy organizations.

The groups' joint statement came just hours after security forces stormed offices of 10 rights organizations, including several based in the United States. The Interior Ministry said the raids were part of the investigation into foreign funding of rights groups.

The military, which took over control after a popular uprising toppled Mubarak in February, has previously accused the groups of fomenting protests with the help of funds from outside the country.

Friday's statement, signed by 28 Egyptian rights groups, said the attacks herald a wider clampdown to target those who led the uprising and were an attempt to "liquidate" the revolution.

"The military council is using Mubarak's authoritarian and repressive tolls ... in an even more dangerous and uglier way," the statement read. The raids "are an unprecedented campaign aimed at covering up big failures of the military council in managing the transition period."

The groups also said the ruling military was trying to "liquidate or take revenge on the political and rights groups that played a significant role in preparing for the revolution, getting involved or shaping the vision to build a new system on the ruins of Mubarak's regime."

An official with the justice ministry's inspection teams said computers and cash were confiscated during the raids. He said an earlier investigation revealed these groups had received up to $100 million from abroad, then deposited the money in different Egyptian banks using names of illiterate Egyptians for the fake accounts.

Also Thursday, police arrested and stormed the home of a member of the April 6 group, a youth movement at the helm of the anti-Mubarak protests. A security official said hashish and about $4,000 were found at Ahmed el-Salkawi's house.

April 6 was among the groups the military had accused of receiving foreign funds and using the money to promote for a "foreign agenda." Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Egypt's youth activists perceive the ruling generals as an extension of Mubarak's regime, and have rallied in protests that turned deadly, demanding they immediately transfer power to a civilian government.

Among the offices which were raided the U.S.-headquartered National Democratic Institute, Freedom House, the International Republican Institute, which is observing Egypt's ongoing parliamentary elections, as well as Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think-tank with links to Chancellor Angela Merkel's party.

Germany's Development Aid Minister, Dirk Niebel said Friday that "political foundations' possibilities to work abroad are the barometer of freedom for us."

"So I call on Egyptian authorities immediately to ensure the foundations' unhindered work and clear up completely what happened," he added in a statement.

The Obama administration demanded Egyptian authorities immediately halt the raids on non-governmental organizations (NGOs), saying they are "inconsistent" with long-standing U.S-Egypt cooperation.

The U.S. State Department called on the Egyptian government "to immediately end the harassment of NGO staff, return all property and resolve this issue." Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. ambassador to Egypt and the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East have spoken to Egyptian officials about the situation and "made very clear that this issue needs immediate attention."

The raids on the NGOs were the first since Mubarak's ouster. Justice Minister Adel Abdel-Hamid has accused around 300 nonprofit groups of receiving unauthorized foreign funding and using the money to encourage protesters.

[Associated Press; By MAGGIE MICHAEL]

Associated Press writer Geir Moulson contributed to this story from Berlin.

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