The People’s Assembly’s Economic Committee banned journalists and media from covering a meeting Sunday with Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abouelnaga to discuss developments in the NGO case.
The meeting was scheduled to discuss the departure of Americans on trial over charges that their pro-democracy groups were illegally funded.
Six of the Americans left Egypt Thursday after a travel ban against them was lifted, raising an outcry against the ruling generals who were accused of interfering with the judiciary.
Sources inside the committee said that Abouelnaga asked members of the committee to ban journalists from covering the “important” meeting.
The sources added that the minister will comment on secret matters that cannot be revealed because of the heated situation on the ‘Egyptian street,’ which feels insulted due to what it sees as foreign intervention in Egyptian matters.
The dispute is rooted in a crackdown by Egyptian officials on pro-democracy and human rights groups accused of receiving foreign assistance.
In December, Egyptian security raided the offices of a number of the NGOs, including four American groups — the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, Freedom House and a group that trains journalists. Officials said the groups were suspected of accepting foreign funds to stir up unrest in the country.
The raid and the subsequent trial of the NGOs activists sparked a crisis in US-Egyptian relations.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
