organization:egyptian center for economic

Crackdown on civil society groups now worse than under Mubarak, warn rights activists | Mada Masr

▻http://www.madamasr.com/content/crackdown-civil-society-groups-now-worse-under-mubarak-warn-rights-activis

The Egyptian state is intensifying its crackdown on civil society, human rights activists warned on Thursday, alleging that state abuses are now worse than under deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

Speaking at a press conference organized after police forces raided the offices of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) late Wednesday night, Bahey Eddin Hassan said that the attack is part of a “general atmosphere of oppression in Egypt.”

The director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) characterized the raid as a “warning bell” for Egyptian non-governmental organizations.

ECESR lawyer Mahmoud Belal described arriving at the group’s downtown Cairo office shortly before midnight and finding it surrounded by policemen, who prevented him from entering the building, before physically assaulting and arresting him.

#Egypt police raids office of leftist NGO
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-police-raids-leftist-ngo-office

Egyptian police raided the offices of an NGO affiliated with a leftist former presidential candidate, arresting three employees and confiscating computers, the group’s director said Thursday. The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, founded by former candidate Khaled Ali, has supported striking factory workers and defended activists at trials. Authorities have renewed scrutiny of some NGOs since the military toppled Islamist president Mohammed Mursi in July following several days of mass protests. read more

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In #Egypt, #corruption cases had an American root - The Washington Post
►http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/in-egypt-corruption-had-an-american-root/2011/10/07/gIQAApWoyL_story.html

Formed with a $10 million endowment from the U.S. Agency for International Development (#USAID), the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies gathered captains of industry in a small circle — with the president’s son Gamal Mubarak at the center. Over time, members of the group would assume top roles in Egypt’s ruling party and government.
(...)
“It became a crony capitalism,” Magda Kandil, the think tank’s new executive director, said of the privatization program advocated by its founders.
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The privatization saga is a cautionary tale about the power and perils of U.S. foreign aid — most notably the nearly $8 billion that the United States has provided to Egypt since the 1990s to push the country toward economic reforms.

#etats-unis #égypte