NGO Employees Get Five Years for 'Working Illegally' in Egypt

They need another revolution

A court in Cairo has convicted 43 Egyptian and foreign employees of non-governmental (NGO) organisations for working illegally in Egypt.

The court sentenced the defendants—most of them in absentia—to jail terms of up to five years.

It also ordered the closure of offices and the seizure of assets in Egypt belonging to several US NGOs.

The case—which began in 2012—has strained relations between Cairo and Washington.

US officials had threatened to cut off the roughly $1.5bn (£980m) in aid paid to Egypt every year.