Egypt prevents the release of son of official U.S.

Egyptian authorities banned a number of U.S. citizens working for NGOs out of Cairo, a ban which the US State Department requested lifted "immediately", indicated yesterday Thursday officials.

"According to what they understood, several Americans working for NGOs, including International Republican Institute (IRI), they could not travel," he said in Cairo the Undersecretary of State for human rights Michael Posner.

Between those who were prevented from leaving figure Sam LaHood, director in Egypt of the IRI and son of the American Secretary for transportation Ray LaHood, said airport sources, which pointed out that this ban was taken "by order of the Attorney general".

This measure even more tense relations with United States after the raids conducted in the premises of 17 NGOs, including IRI, in the context of an investigation in December on u000a"illegal foreign funding". "We call on the Egyptian Government to lift these restrictions immediately..." said the spokesperson Victoria Nuland.

( )
INSPECTED at the end of December
another six activists of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) have also received the same ban, according to CNN. The State Department has could not confirm this information because prohibits it American protection of Privacy Act. The IRI and NDI are among the 17 human rights NGOs whose premises were inspected at the end of December by the Egyptian Prosecutor's Office in search of documents to confirm its external financing.

Representatives of the public prosecutor's Office seized documents and technical teams likely to have been used for committing offences in such facilities. The Prosecutor's Office said there was "serious evidence" that these NGOs, both Egyptian u000aand abroad, they practiced activities that violate the law of the country that regulates their functioning and which prohibits, among other things, the recruitment of foreign funds.

Share this article

Digg it!

del.icio.us

MySpace

Facebook

Fark

Reddit

Newsvine