CAIRO (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer met Egypt's ruling generals in Cairo Saturday and discussed the case of U.S. pro-democracy activists charged in an investigation that has strained ties between Cairo and Washington.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was the first senior U.S. official to visit Cairo since the charges were brought against 43 foreign and Egyptian activists following a probe into civil society groups.
Around 20 of those charged are Americans. They have been banned from leaving the country and include Sam LaHood, the country director of the International Republican Institute (IRI) who is the son of the U.S. transportation secretary. An undisclosed number have taken shelter at the U.S. embassy.
The investigators have brought charges including that the activists were working for organizations not legally registered in Egypt. The Egyptian government says the issue is a case of law, not politics.
In signs the dispute could worsen, however, Egyptian authorities detained an Australian journalist and an American student Saturday on suspicion they had distributed cash to workers and incited them to take part in a strike called by activists demanding an end to army rule.
The Egyptian official said a delegation from Congress will be visiting Cairo to continue discussions over aid. For U.S. aid to continue, the Obama administration must certify to Congress that Egypt is making progress toward democracy.
In Congress, some lawmakers and their aides have said U.S. aid to Egypt had effectively stopped pending resolution of the crisis.
Following the meeting of the generals, Egypt's government issued a statement saying it was reviewing the 2002 law regulating the work of non-governmental organizations in Egypt.
Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Faiza Abul Naga said Saturday the review would aim to "resolve any legal gaps in the law.".....snip~
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