Egypt Acquits Democracy Workers in Case That Strained U.S. Ties

The acquittal drew attention to the wider crackdown on civil society in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has imprisoned journalists and rights activists, muzzled the free press, and introduced harsh laws regulating nongovernmental organizations.

On Wednesday a Cairo court ordered the release of Amal Fathy, an actor and former activist who was jailed for two years in September after she spoke on Facebook about her experience of sexual harassment in Egypt. Her husband, Mohamed Lotfy, said Thursday that she was expected to be released in coming days.

The crackdown stems from the events of 2011, when the wave of street protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak was soon followed by restrictions on civil society. The prosecution late in that year of the American and European democracy groups, as well as the International Center for Journalists, was an early sign of the backlash.

Among those charged was Sam LaHood, son of Ray LaHood, the United States transportation secretary at the time, who worked with the Republican Institute and was briefly barred from leaving Egypt in early 2012. The 43 rights workers were convicted on charges that included operating without a permit and using illegal foreign funds, and were given sentences of up to five years’ imprisonment in June 2013.