Update - Egypt lifts travel ban on pro-democracy workers.

Update on Previous Post - Egypt lifts travel ban on pro-democracy workers.(BM).Egypt on Wednesday lifted a travel ban preventing 19 American and two German pro-democracy activists currently on trial in Cairo from leaving the country, judicial sources told dpa.
“Egypt’s general prosecutor ordered the cancelling of the travel ban on all activists,” the source said.A total of 43 activists are facing charges of receiving illegal foreign funding, meddling in politics and operating in Egypt without licenses. The non-governmental organizations involved include Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Washington-based International Republican Institute (IRI).Only seven of the US nationals were still in Egypt, where they have sought refuge at the American embassy in Cairo.It was not immediately clear when any of the activists involved in the case would leave the country.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told lawmakers in Washington that the US had not yet received confirmation that the travel ban had been lifted, but was working with Egyptian authorities on the matter.The move came just hours after the panel of judges hearing the trial resigned from the case.
Presiding Judge Mohamed Shukri did not give a reason for his decision to request the appointment of a new panel, according to local television reports.However, experts noted that in Egypt judges can resign while hearing a case if they conclude that prevailing circumstances are not conducive to a fair trial.Shukri’s decision was made after Egyptian authorities reportedly asked him to drop the travel ban on the 43 defendants, according to local media reports, citing unnamed sources.
The case has caused a rift between Egypt and Western powers, with the United States threatening to withhold 1.3 billion dollars in annual military aid to Egypt, its key Arab ally, if the activists were put on trial.On Tuesday, Clinton appeared to anticipate events by saying Washington and Cairo were moving toward a resolution “very soon.”
The trial opened in a Cairo criminal court on Sunday and was adjourned to April 26 after the defence asked for more time to prepare.Read the full story here.

Egypt refuses to let Dempsey take detained Americans with him, Calling Sam Lahood the 'prime suspect.'

Egypt refuses to let Dempsey take detained Americans with him, Calling Sam Lahood the 'prime suspect.'(IsraelMatzav).During a visit earlier this month, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey attempted to obtain the release of 19 Americans being held in Egypt on charges of promoting democracy. Dempsey even attempted to take them with him on his private plane but to no avail. "It appears that General Dempsey urged Egyptian officials he met to release the accused Americans and allow them to leave the country, so they may be tried in absentia," the Al-Ahram report said."The next day, the American request was even more persistent, with Dempsey saying he wanted to accompany the Americans on his private plane," said the report by a senior editor of the government's flagship newspaper.Al-Ahram reported that the officials who met Dempsey told him the case was a judicial matter and only a court could lift the travel ban on the suspects.
After the meetings, Dempsey's spokesperson had said the general brought up the charges against the 19 Americans, workers with NGOs accused of receiving illicit foreign funding, but refused to elaborate on the discussions.The prime suspect in the case is Sam LaHood, the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He heads the Egyptian chapter of the International Republican Institute, one of the American NGOs implicated in the case.
Ray LaHood told US broadcaster CBS on Friday that "there are a lot of people in our government, really top officials in our government, working night and day to resolve this issue," according to CBS's website.Hmmmm..........."Prime Suspect" doesn't sound good.Read the full story here.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's son, Sam on Egypt “no-fly” list says could face jail time

American on Egypt “no-fly” list says could face jail time.(BM).CAIRO: The director of the Egypt unit of the International Republican Institute (IRI) in Cairo said he fears he could be jailed for up to five years after being barred from leaving the country earlier this month.Sam LaHood, the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and a number of other Americans were banned from leaving Egypt little over a week ago and told Fox News that they believe they could go on trial and face jail time.
The younger LaHood told Fox News via telephone on Friday that an Egyptian judge claims he, along with the other Americans stopped, worked for an unregistered non-governmental organization and took a salary.“We’re kind of expecting the worst,” LaHood said.“There hasn’t been a lot of movement nothing has really changed.“If it does go to trial, a trial could last up to one year in a case that’s as wide-ranging as this one is. But the penalty for that is six months to five years in jail so these are very serious charges.”
For its part, the White House demanded that Egypt “immediately” lift the travel ban on Americans.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said top officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have gotten involved. She said the administration so far knows of “four or five specific cases” where Americans have tried to leave and “had difficulties.”“We are urging the government of Egypt to lift these restrictions immediately and allow folks to come home as soon as possible,” she said, later adding: “Frankly, we don’t know how this is going to come out yet.”
According to the statement from the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the employees of the organizations are now under investigation by the public prosecutor.“The storming of NGO offices is an unprecedented move in the recent history of Egyptian NGOs. In February 2011, during the 18 days Egyptian revolution, Military Police have stormed the office of Hisham Mubarak Law Center (an Egyptian NGO based in Cairo) and arrested several of its members as well as staff members of other international organizations that were present at the scene,” the statement continued.Hmmmmm........Ever heard of "Jiiza Tax"or 'blackmail'?Read the full story here.

Update: Egypt plans to send delegation to U.S. as NGO tensions mount.(AlArabiya).An Egyptian military delegation plans to visit the United States next week in talks over future of U.S. aid to Egypt, American officials said on Friday.The delegation is set to meet with state department and Pentagon officials and hold talks on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers will soon consider a new request for aid to Egypt’s military.U.S. aid currently amounts to $1.3 billion per year, one official told Reuters news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The visit comes after Egypt’s military-led authorities pounced on non-governmental organizations, including several funded by the U.S. government, and slapped travel bans on six American staffers including a son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former congressman.The six U.S. citizens work with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI).
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said American officials were pressing Egyptian authorities the crackdown, which she described as “bizarre.” The Americans have demanded that Egypt lift travel restrictions placed on a number of foreign NGO staffers.“We do not have progress since yesterday, I am sorry to report,” Nuland said.Political analysts say the crackdown, along with questions over Egypt’s Emergency Law and security forces’ treatment of women protesters, has clouded the outlook for Egypt’s fledgling democracy following last year’s overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.
“The assertions of the Egyptian government in these cases are that they are subject to a judicial process which is not complete,” Nuland said. “Our message back is, ‘Complete these formalities and let our people travel as soon as possible.’“Officials said a detailed Washington schedule for the Egyptian visit was still being worked out, adding that it was a regular staff delegation that was coming at a moment of high tension in the U.S.-Egypt relationship.
Other political sources said the Egyptians were expected to discuss the NGO issue on Capitol Hill, where a number of senators have warned the Egyptians that U.S. aid was at stake if action against the NGOs continues.“Continued restriction of their activities and harassment of international and Egyptian staff will be looked at with great concern, particularly in light of Egypt’s considerable U.S. assistance,” 11 senators said in a letter to Egyptian Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi dated Jan. 18.

President Barack Obama spoke with Tantawi on 20 January and stressed the importance of the NGOs, as well as Egypt’s deteriorating economic situation and its request for $3.2 billion in support from the International Monetary Fund.Hmmmm......Negociating 'blackmail 101' with the Cairo 'mob'.Read the full story here.