Egypt Denies 8 U.S. Non-Profits Licenses to Operate - USATODAY.com
Egyptian authorities have denied permission to eight U.S.-based nonprofit groups to operate locally, including a center headed by former American President Jimmy Carter that monitors elections, a ministry official said on Monday.
The Social Affairs Ministry official said the licenses were denied because the groups’ activities “breach the country’s sovereignty.” He did not elaborate. He spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
The move comes only a month ahead of presidential elections slated for May 23, the first since the ouster of longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak 14 months ago.
Sanne van den Bergh, who heads The Carter Center in Egypt, said that the group has not yet received formal notification of the decision. Observers from the center were allowed by the country’s military rulers to “witness” multi-stage parliamentary elections that ran November to February. The Carter Center said the vote was generally fair.