Egypt Dissolves 169 Brotherhood NGOs 

Ahram Online
Monday 23 Feb 2015

The social solidarity minister said the more was made to comply with a court decision that designated the Muslim Brotherhood a 'terrorist group'

The social solidarity ministry on Monday dissolved 169 non-governmental organisations controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Dissolving the NGOs came after a decision last year by the Court for Urgent Matters that designated the Brotherhood a “terrorist group” and ordered the seizure of its funds, Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali explained in a statement.

She said the monetary funds of these organisations will be used to a support civil organisations and associations.

The NGOs are in nine different governorates, including Assiut, Sohag, Aswan, New Valley, Kafr El-Sheikh, Alexandria and Damietta, the statement read.

Meanwhile, Wali stressed that the ministry will only support “transparent, active and effective” civil groups that serve Egyptians.

Recently, Egypt’s NGOs have been facing uncertainty after an ultimatum made by Wali for all NGOs to register under a law from the era of toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Some have been claiming that the ministry’s efforts were steps towards eliminating certain civil groups that might be seen as posing a threat.

The social solidarity ministry announced in July that all civil groups must be registered with the government, as per law 84 issued in 2002, which critics say was used to hamper rights organisations' mobility and freedom under Mubarak's regime.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/123744.aspx