All three judges in Egypt's trial of 43 NGO workers have pulled out of the case, according to a court official.

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 organizations flatly deny the charges, and US officials have hinted foreign aid to Egypt could be in jeopardy because of the case.

Mohammed Shoukry, the lead judge in the case, said on Tuesday that "the court felt uneasiness" in handling the case, according to a court official. He did not elaborate.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said new judges would be assigned to the case.

The trial has so far only made it as far as its opening session, and would need to be restarted with a new panel of judges.

Combined with indications that the two countries are trying to find an acceptable resolution to the crisis, there is speculation that the case could be dropped.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, told two senate panels on Tuesday that the US and Egypt, which has long been considered a close ally of Washington, were "in very intensive discussions about finding a solution".

"We've had a lot of very tough conversations," she said. "We're moving toward a resolution."

"It's important that they know that we are continuing to push them," Clinton said.

Ahmed Seif al-Islam, an Egyptian lawyer and rights activist, said it was hard to interpret what was behind the resignations.

He said that judges tended to pull out of cases over relationships with defendants or their lawyers.

In other cases, especially political ones, judges might feel pressure and prefer to stay away.

"In general, the main reason is that the judge feels that he cannot act as a real judge, and his rulings would be unfair or influenced," Seif al-Islam said.

The affair began in December when Egyptian security raided 17 offices of 10 groups, confiscating documents and equipment.

It led to charges that the groups, including human rights organizations, had financed protests over the past year with illegally obtained funds and had failed to register with the government as required.

The groups insist their financing is transparent, and say that all their efforts to register have been stalled by the Egyptian government.

The charges dovetail with constant pronouncements from Egypt's military rulers that protests against their rule are directed by unnamed foreign forces, a claim that is ridiculed by Egyptian activists.

Furious over the charges and travel bans against civil society workers, the US has threatened to cut off aid to Egypt, putting at risk $1.3bn in military aid this year and another $250m in economic assistance.

Egyptian officials claim the matter is entirely in the hands of the judiciary, and many view the US threat as unacceptable meddling.

Most of the defendants were not in court when the trial opened on Sunday, with Shoukry adjourning proceedings for two months until April 26 to give lawyers time to read the case files, said to be in excess of 1,500 pages, and for authorities to find interpreters for non-Arabic speaking defendants.

Of the 43 defendants in the case, 16 are from the US, 16 are Egyptians, and others are German, Palestinian, Serbian and Jordanian. Of the 16 US citizens, seven have been banned from leaving Egypt, among them Sam LaHood, son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Several have taken refuge at the US embassy in Cairo.

The 43 worked for the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, Freedom House, a group that trains journalists and a German nonprofit organization. If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison.

PHOTO CAPTION
Lead judge Mohammed Shoukry said Tuesday that "the court felt uneasiness" in handling the case [AFP]

Aljazeera