Yesterday’s report in Egypt’s state media claimed that the judge in charge of the US NGO trials “renounced” the case, and some speculated that this this meant the entire affair was effectively over. Today, however, it seems that the case is still officially on the books in Egypt.
Instead, the US NGO workers are being allowed to leave Egypt after a “bail” of $300,000 was paid for them and they had to sign a “pledge” to come back to Egypt when the next hearing is held.
No one expects them to ever actually return to Egypt, and indeed there probably never will be a future hearing, meaning those “bails” amount to little more than a fine for the allegations.
Which apparently isn’t sitting too well with some of the judges involved in the case, as some have announced their resignation in “embarrassment” over the junta’s handling of the situation. The US State Department said it was “pleased” Egypt was letting the workers leave the country, but remains “deeply concerned” that people in NGOs can be prosecuted for ties with foreign governments.
Unlike the United States, which has benefited sooooooooooooooooo much from the presence of people with "ties with foreign governments."
Such is the way in the Middle East. Everything works on "bucksheesh", or the greasing of the palm. Standard operating procedure.