Yesterday, Ms Ahmed was summoned for interrogation by the investigating judge in case 173/2011, known as the ‘foreign funding case’ and then released on bail of 20,000 EGP (around 1,000 EUR).
Human rights defenders are constantly harassed and prosecuted for peacefully exercising their activities in Egypt. The human rights situation in Egypt is at an all-time low. Human rights defenders as well as journalists, bloggers and lawyers who do not adhere to the official line of the regime are being silenced for their work. See our campaign Human Rights Behind Bars in Egypt for more information and subscribe to our campaign newsletter here.
The 173 case dates back to December 2011, when Egyptian authorities stormed a number of foreign civil society organisations and formed an investigative committee to look into the activities of both foreign organisations operating in Egypt and local independent NGOs. This case led to a massive threat to close many Egyptian independent NGOs, including the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.