Administration Opposes Increased Aid to Egypt

The White House announced recently that it would oppose additional foreign assistance to Egypt due, in large part, to the detention of Saad Eddin Ibrahim.

This is a major new development in our efforts to free Dr. Ibrahim and to promote democracy in Egypt. The White House action marks the first time that any administration has linked the human rights record of a Middle Eastern Country to its eligibility to receive foreign assistance.

It is important that the administration continues to engage the Egyptian government on the root causes of political prosecutions like that of Dr. Ibrahim.

Dr. Ibrahim’s trial – and the trials of other human rights defenders in Egypt – stem from laws that restrict the activities of independent, non-violent political and social activists. These laws, like the new law of association passed by the Egyptian parliament in June 2002, are directly contradictory to the goals of U.S. foreign assistance programs designed to build civil society and political pluralism. Such programs cannot hope to be effective if these basic restrictions are not lifted.

We urge the administration to keep up the pressure on the Egyptian government to free Dr. Ibrahim and his colleagues, and to create a legal environment in which independent NGOs can thrive.