NGO saga sours Egypt's ties with US

CAIRO // Egyptian judges yesterday referred 43 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, to trial before a criminal court for allegedly being involved in banned activities and illegally receiving foreign money.

The decision is likely to further sour relations between Egypt and the United States.

Beside the Americans, those referred to trial included five Serbs, two Germans and three non-Egyptian Arab nationals. Among the Americans is Sam LaHood, the head of the Egypt office of the Washington-based International Republican Institute and the son of Ray LaHood, the US transportation secretary. A trial date has not been set.

The referral is the latest development in a long-running row between Washington and Cairo over an Egyptian crackdown on US-funded groups promoting democracy and human rights.