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Germany summons Egyptian ambassador in protest at NGO charges
Feb 7, 2012, 15:36 GMT
Berlin - Egypt's ambassador to Berlin was summoned by officials Tuesday to hear a protest at the indictment in Cairo of two German citizens working for a pro-democracy institute.
Egyptian magistrates named 43 workers at such non-government organizations on Monday, alleging they set up offices in Egypt without licences and bankrolled certain groups during parliamentary election to serve foreign agendas.
The Berlin-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation is affiliated with Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
'For the sake of democracy in Egypt, the government will do all it can to ensure that political foundations can continue their work unobstructed,' Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said after the envoy had been handed the protest at his ministry.
Five US nationals, the two Germans, three Serbs, two Lebanese, a Norwegian, a Palestinian and a Jordanian are expected to face trial along with 14 Egyptians in the case. The United States said earlier it was 'deeply disturbed' by the prosecution.
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