Egyptian authorities have ordered the closure of the Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation for Victims of Violence and Torture, a prominent NGO, the organization and security sources said on Wednesday.
The security sources and a lawyer for the center said authorities had agreed to hold off from closing the center until next week to allow more time to explain the reasons for shutting it down.
Sources in the Health Ministry, which issues licenses for the Nadeem center, said it had committed unspecified violations.
Nadeem center director Aida Seif el-Dawla described the move as part of a government crackdown on NGOs and dissent.
"Unless they arrest us all, we will continue in our work as long as we remain out of prison," she told Reuters.
"It would be stupid if they shut down the center because we provide a service that no one else provides to the underprivileged."
