Egyptian police crack down on pro-democracy groups
The official MENA news agency said the groups had been targeted as part of an investigation into foreign funding of such organisations.
Rights groups, a driving force behind the protests that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February, have become increasingly vocal in criticising the army’s heavy-handed tactics in dealing with street unrest and demanding a quicker handover of power to civilians.
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Hide AdAmong groups targeted were the local offices of the US-based International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute, said a security source and employees at the organisations.
Other groups that were raided included US-based Freedom House and local groups set up to defend judicial independence, individual freedoms and democracy, according to the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights.
“This looks like a campaign against human rights defenders,” said Egyptian rights activist Negad al-Borai. He said similar campaigns happened during Mubarak’s three-decade rule.
“For this to happen after what we call the ‘revolution’, I am astonished,” added Mr Borai.
Egypt’s military, which itself accepts $1.3 billion (£843 million) a year in US aid, has said it will not tolerate foreign interference in the country’s affairs.