CAIRO – The trial of 16 Americans and 27 others opens today at a Cairo courthouse in what critics say is a politically charged case linked to a government crackdown on nonprofit groups that has touched off the deepest crisis in U.S.-Egyptian relations in decades.

The case, which involves American employees of four U.S.-based pro-democracy groups, has tested one of Washington’s most pivotal relationships in the Middle East, and prompted U.S. officials to threaten to cut a $1.5 billion annual aid package to Egypt if the issue is not resolved. Egyptian authorities have responded by blasting what they call U.S. meddling in Egypt’s legal affairs.

There are 43 defendants in the case — 16 Americans, 16 Egyptians, as well as Germans, Palestinians, Serbs and Jordanians. They have been charged with the illegal use foreign funds to foment unrest and operating without a license. But the investigation fits into a broader campaign by Egypt’s rulers against alleged foreign influence since the ouster of ruler Hosni Mubarak last year.

Rights groups have sharply criticized the investigation into the pro-democracy groups and the charges, saying they are part of an orchestrated effort by Egyptian authorities to silence critics and cripple civil society groups critical of the military’s handling of the country’s transition to democracy. Egyptian officials counter by saying the trial has nothing to do with the government and is in the judiciary’s hands.

President Obama has urged Egypt’s military rulers to drop the investigation, and high-level officials, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey and Republican Sen. John McCain, have flown in to Cairo to seek a solution.

A senior U.S. official said Saturday the Obama administration is in “intense discussions” with Egypt to resolve the legal case “in the coming days.”

 

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