Judges pull out of Egyptian NGOs trial

All three judges in Egypt's trial of 43 NGO workers have pulled out of the case, according to a court official. A senior judicial source told privately owned channel Al Haya TV that the judges in charge of the controversial NGO workers' trial bowed out as they were "feeling uneasy". Chief Judge Mohammed Shukry sent a letter to the head of the appeals court on Tuesday saying he and his two colleagues could not continue judging the trial. During a phone conversation with the same channel, Egyptian MP Mahmoud Al-Khodairy said that when a court retreated from a case due in such circumstances, it usually meant there was something that linked one of the judges to the defendants or their lawyers, perhaps due to the court's involvement with certain details of the case. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a congressional hearing that the United States was moving toward a resolution "very soon" with Egypt over the crackdown on US and other pro-democracy groups that has imperiled the decades-old alliance. The court postponed the trial to April 26 in order to assign accredited translators for the defendants. The defendants, including 16 US citizens, are charged with using illegal foreign funds to foment unrest that has roiled Egypt over the past year. The non-governmental organisations flatly deny the charges, and US officials have hinted foreign aid to Egypt could be in jeopardy because of the case.