Egyptian prosecutors and police raided offices of 17 pro-democracy and human rights groups in what rights defenders described as a campaign against them by the military rulers.
Rights groups, a driving force behind the protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February, have become increasingly vocal in criticizing the army’s heavy-handed tactics in dealing with street unrest and demanding a quicker handover of power to civilians.
The official MENA news agency said the groups had been targeted as part of an investigation into foreign funding of such organizations.
“The public prosecutor has searched 17 civil-society organizations, local and foreign, as part of the foreign funding case,” MENA cited the prosecutor’s office as saying. “The search is based on evidence showing violation of Egyptian laws including not having permits.”