The trial of foreign NGO activists taking place in Cairo was adjourned until April 10

The trial of foreign NGO activists taking place in Cairo was adjourned until April 10.

A new panel of judges is hearing the case after the original judges quit, websites said. A number of foreign national together with 14 Egyptians are on trial, as the 15 US nationals who originally were on trial flew home last week, according to Al-Jazeera website.  

The trial, which was against 43 suspects -- 16 Egyptians and 27 foreign nationals -- in which the activists were accused of receiving illicit foreign funds to operate unlicensed NGOs, caused a crisis in relations between the United States and Egypt. The defendants are charged with "establishing unlicensed chapters of international organizations and accepting foreign funding to finance these groups in a manner that breached the Egyptian state's sovereignty," Egyptian agency MENA had reported.
 
After months of attempts from Washington, 13 of the foreign defendants including six Americans, were allowed to fly out of Cairo airport after posting bail last week, sparking outrage in Egypt. Other foreign defendants were already out of the country.