Egypt presses ahead with trial of Americans

[pwaldo]

http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-presses-...210403316.html

The trial of 16 Americans and 27 others opens Sunday at a Cairo courthouse in what critics say is a politically charged case linked to a government crackdown on nonprofit groups that has touched off the deepest crisis in U.S.-Egyptian relations in decades.

A senior U.S. official said Saturday the Obama administration is in "intense discussions" with Egypt to resolve the legal case "in the coming days."

The case, which involves American employees of four U.S.-based pro-democracy groups, has tested one of Washington's most pivotal relationships in the Middle East, and prompted U.S. officials to threaten to cut a $1.5 billion annual aid package to Egypt if the issue is not resolved. Egyptian authorities have responded by blasting what they call U.S. meddling in Egypt's legal affairs.

President Barack Obama has urged Egypt's military rulers to drop the investigation, and high-level officials, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey and Republican Sen. John McCain, have flown in to Cairo to seek a solution.

The U.S. official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter, said that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had raised the matter twice in person with Egypt's foreign minister — once in London and once in Tunisia — in the past three days and that other senior U.S. officials are actively involved.

However, the U.S. cannot be seen as pushing too hard against Egypt's ruling military council, which is viewed as the best hope for a stable transition for a nation that is not just a regional heavyweight, but also the most populous in the Arab world and a lynchpin in Washington's Middle East policy, largely because of its landmark peace treaty with Israel.

There are 43 defendants in the case — 16 Americans, 16 Egyptians, as well as Germans, Palestinians, Serbs and Jordanians. They have been charged with the illegal use of foreign funds to foment unrest and operating without a license. But the investigation fits into a broader campaign by Egypt's rulers against alleged foreign influence since the ouster of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak last year.

Rights groups have sharply criticized the investigation into the pro-democracy groups and the charges, saying they are part of an orchestrated effort by Egyptian authorities to silence critics and cripple civil society groups critical of the military's handling of the country's transition to democracy. Egyptian officials counter by saying the trial has nothing to do with the government and is in the judiciary's hands.

The U.S. State Department says that seven of the 16 Americans facing trial have been barred from leaving Egypt by the country's attorney general. Several Americans, including Sam LaHood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, have sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy.

It is not clear whether the Americans and the rest of the defendants will appear in court Sunday. They could not be immediately reached by telephone.

[theonedru]

You have to be foolish to want a democratic government, we are living proof democracy does not work.

[AUTaxMan]

You have to be foolish to want a democratic government, we are living proof democracy does not work.

We are not a democracy, and for the record, our system of government has produced the most free and prosperous society in the history of man.

[theonedru]

We are not a democracy, and for the record, our system of government has produced the most free and prosperous society in the history of man.

when you are $15 trillion in debt you are far from prosperous and we are hardly the most free country now let alone ever....