Egypt sets trial date for Americans, others in pro-democracy groups

Associated Press

CAIRO

Egypt said Saturday the criminal trial of 16 Americans and 27 others will start next Sunday in a politically charged case against foreign-funded pro- democracy groups that has badly shaken Cairo’s ties with Washington.

The trial represents an escalation in what has become the deepest crisis in U.S.-Egypt relations in decades. American officials have threatened to cut $1.5 billion in aid over the spat, and high-level officials have flown in to seek a solution. Egyptian authorities have responded by blasting what they call U.S. meddling in legal affairs.

The growing spat also shows the uncertain path Egypt’s military rulers are charting more than one year after a popular uprising pushed President Hosni Mubarak from power. During his nearly 30-year rule, the U.S. tolerated Mubarak’s anti-democratic policies and continued to fund his government, knowing he’d uphold Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel.