Egypt’s Social Solidarity Ministry dissolved Thursday 12 non-governmental organizations, claiming they have ties with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali said the assets and funds of those organizations will be redirected to the ministry’s NGO assistance fund. She said the measure comes in line with a court verdict that requires activities and assets held by Brotherhood-affiliated NGOs to be banned and frozen.
This raises the number of organizations subjected to a similar measure to 545.
Egyptian authorities have been pushing for the legal regulation of NGO’s and their finances, which activists fear seeks to further restrict their activities.
In June 2013, 43 foreign and Egyptian NGO employees were sentenced to between one and five years in prison over charges of operating unlawfully and receiving illicit finances.
Egypt declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group in late 2013 following the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
