Nour plans to run for president

By Amr Emam
Saturday, January 30, 2010

Opposition activist Ayman Nour announced yesterday his desire to run for president in Egypt’s next presidential polls, downplaying the effect of what he called the “legal stumbling blocks” the Government allegedly puts on the opposition’s way to presidency.

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Nour said he felt obliged to run in the next elections, which are slated for 2011, so that Egypt could be “put” on track yet again.
“It’s necessary for everyone of us to act now to rescue the future of this country,” Nour said.

“Egypt’s future is in danger and a quick action is required if this country is to continue to hold,” he told The Gazette in an interview.

Nour, the founder of the opposition el-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, called for the formation of a new constitution and a transitional cabinet to be headed by former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed el-Baradie to prepare Egypt for what he called “fair” elections.

Nour came a distant second to Egypt’s incumbent President Hosni Mubarak in the country’s first contested presidential elections in 2005.

Some people say, Nour, who was previously convicted and sent to five years in jail for fabricating party documents, has many legal hindrances ahead if he wants to run for president.

He, however, says he had loaded his guns with the necessary legal arguments and documents to sort this legal problem out.

“If my party chooses to field me as a candidate in the elections, I would seek ways to find a solution to this problem,” Nour said.

“My party would ratchet up the necessary internal and external pressure to make this possible,” he added, without elaboration.

Members from Nour’s party are due to meet on Friday to agree whether they will pick him as
the party‘s presidential candidate.

Despite this, he has already started his campaign by touring more than 20 Egyptian cities to meet ordinary citizens and talk to them about his programme.

Nour, in his mid forties and a lawyer by profession, says he had found support everywhere he went, making him encouraged even more to run for president.

Mubarak, who has been ni power swince 1981, has not said yet wheite he will run for a 6th six-year term in office.

But in a recent interview with the Police Magazine, the President said he would welcome candidates who would “serve” the people.

Heartened by this, Nour is optimistic about his prospects in the elections. “I found support everywhere and this gives me hope,” Nour said.

“People’s feelings to my campaign are more than encouraging,” he added.

Ayman Nour is a brave man, and as a democrat and opposition leader in Egypt he needs to be

National Review, June 22, 2009

Ayman Nour is a brave man, and as a democrat and opposition leader in Egypt he needs to be. A lawyer, and the founder and head of the al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party, he ran in the 2005 election against Hosni Mubarak, who has been running Egypt by emergency decree for over 20 years. In the circumstances, Nour's bid was hardly more than a symbolic gesture, but Mubarak made sure to send him to prison for four years.

Released this February, Nour has petitioned Mubarak to lift restrictions on his civil and political rights. Then he declared that he would run for president again in 2011. The very next day, someone on a motorbike rode up to him in the street, identified him by name, and fired an improvised flame-thrower. Nour's forehead, the side of his face, and much of his hair were burned. The attack was probably timed to coincide with President Obama's much-heralded June visit to Cairo. "In an authoritarian regime like ours you cannot know the reasons why things like this happen," says Nour, giving proof that his courage has not been even lightly singed.

From Ayman Nour, a Question for Obama

By Michael Gerson

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

I last saw Ayman Nour in a dingy Cairo conference room in 2005 while he was running for president against Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's military ruler. During a Middle Eastern trip, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had convened a small group of Egyptian dissidents and civil society leaders to discuss democracy and human rights. Many in the room were encouraged by the greater free expression Mubarak was permitting in Egypt under American pressure. A door, they thought, was opening.

Nour, looking exhausted, spoke last: "This is not an open door, it is a revolving door. It will end up with one conclusion -- a monologue, not a dialogue." Egypt's election laws, he complained, were unclear and unfair. The government was pursuing trumped-up legal charges against him. State security agents followed him everywhere.

Nour's pessimism was prophetic. After the election, he was imprisoned for three years. Now he is banned from practicing law, running for office or appearing on national television. Last week, two unknown assailants using a homemade flamethrower burned Nour's hair and face.

President Obama is entering a nation and a region where such treatment is the normal price of political courage. His Cairo University speech will send a large diplomatic signal: Does Obama honor and support such courage, or de-emphasize and dismiss it in the "realist" pursuit of other ends?

One hopes that Obama and his speechwriters have consulted "The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East," an important new book by Joshua Muravchik. The book profiles seven men and women -- six Arab, one Iranian -- taking impossible risks in the cause of human rights and self-government. They include a Saudi woman protesting the treatment of women as chattel and an Egyptian publisher trying to bring a free, responsible press to an authoritarian society. Most of these reformers have suffered imprisonment or faced threats to their lives and families.

Many of these dissidents, Muravchik told me in an interview, felt "betrayed" during the last few years of the Bush administration, when the containment of Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process seemed to take precedence over democracy promotion (except in Iraq). Reformers in the region generally greeted Obama's election with enthusiasm. But Muravchik says dissidents are becoming "disquieted about the administration's apparent indifference to democracy and human rights abuses."

They should be, in the Middle East and elsewhere. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has bluntly admitted that concern about Chinese human rights abuses "can't interfere with the global economic crisis" -- meaning we can't afford to offend dictators who buy our bonds. The administration talks of reviewing sanctions on Burma's junta. And Egypt's ambassador to the United States enthuses that America has stopped making "human rights, democracy and religious and general freedoms" conditions for better relations.

In this environment, the message of Obama's Cairo speech will be amplified. His Middle East advisers have probably urged him to focus (as they always do) on Israeli-Palestinian peace -- the "real" concern of the region -- instead of discredited democratic idealism. In fact, this sort of realism both reflects and strengthens the strategy that Middle Eastern dictators have pursued for decades -- the strategy of heaping attention on Israel and the Palestinians to draw attention away from their own oppression and economic failure. There is no reason Obama cannot emphasize both a two-state solution and the need for responsible and representative states across the Middle East.

It is also likely that Obama has been counseled to avoid the "d" word -- "democracy" -- in his Cairo remarks. Middle East experts sometimes contend that promoting "justice" and "good governance" is more culturally sensitive than employing such Westernized concepts as "democracy" and "freedom." The argument is common -- and uninformed. "Justice," in this context, implies human rights as the gift of a wise emir or enlightened dictator. But, as Nour and others have discovered, such gifts can be withdrawn on a whim. The next founders in the Middle East are not merely begging for more rights from autocrats; they are seeking freedom from autocracy. They want more than for tyrants to open the door of reform a crack; they want to open the door themselves.

Any presidential speech abroad has multiple audiences. One of them, in this case, is the Egyptian government, whose cooperation is needed on issues that range from proliferation to peace. But another audience will be dissidents and reformers in Egypt and beyond. And a president who does not speak boldly for their political rights -- their democratic rights -- has little useful to say to them.

michaelgerson@cfr.org

Ayman Nour's word to US Congress

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3

BBC News - Profile: Ayman Nour

Profile: Ayman Nour

Before his imprisonment, Ayman Nour was a relative newcomer to Egypt's stagnant political scene.

Ayman Nour's Ghad party was founded in October 2004

Mr Nour, a softly-spoken, eloquent former lawyer, formed his political party in October 2004 with a view to contesting presidential elections the following year.

Three months later, prosecutors in Cairo charged him with forging signatures to register Ghad, the party whose name means "tomorrow" in Arabic.

He developed a vocal band of supporters at home and a profile abroad.

And his liberal credentials brought him into direct competition with the youthful wing of the governing party, headed by President Hosni Mubarak's son, Gamal.

They also brought him to the attention of the US, Egypt's biggest ally in the West, which has urged Cairo to reform the political system that has kept President Mubarak in power for more than two decades.

Analysts said the speed with which Mr Nour was stripped of parliamentary immunity and brought to trial suggested the government did not want to under-estimate the political threat he posed.

The government rejected all allegations that the trial was politically motivated.

Jail term

Washington voiced disquiet at Mr Nour's treatment and Cairo delayed his trial, enabling him to take part in the 2005 elections.

The presidential poll saw Mr Nour come a distant second to the incumbent, polling 8% of the vote to Mr Mubarak's 89% - a result Nour alleged was rigged.

In November 2005, Mr Nour also lost his parliamentary seat to a ruling party candidate - another result that he claimed was rigged.

His trial went ahead a month later, delivering a guilty verdict and handing him a five-year jail term.

A co-defendant at the trial complained he had been forced to make a false confession.

Political family

Mr Nour, a diabetic dependent on insulin, spent the week before the verdict in hospital as a result of a hunger strike he had started in protest at his detention.

Ayman Nour's wife has campaigned for his release

During an earlier spell in prison, he wrote to US magazine Newsweek, saying the government was suspicious of his reformist inclinations and wanted to discredit him by labelling him as an agent of the US.

"The solidarity shown to me by my supporters, together with sympathy from the international community, have triggered in [the] authorities a strange stubbornness," he wrote.

The 44-year-old comes from a family with a long history of involvement in public life.

Throughout his trial, his wife, Gameela Ismail, led daily protests against the Mubarak administration.

While in prison last year, he is known to have written to Barack Obama as he campaigned for the US presidency. It is understood he urged Mr Obama to help Arab reformers push for democracy in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, during a speech in Egypt in May 2008, President George W Bush pointedly remarked that "too often in the Middle East, politics consisted of one leader in power and the opposition in jail".

Mr Nour's release was unexpected but comes at a time of expectation that the Obama administration could bring a change in diplomatic relations in the region.

Egypt Frees Challenger To Mubarak

The Egyptian authorities release Ayman Nour, an opposition politician whose jailing more than three years ago on forgery charges has been the source of tensions between Cairo and Washington.

A young secular politician who mounted an unprecedented challenge against Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's long-serving president during elections in 2005, Nour was jailed on charges that his supporters say were trumped up. Nour himself said that he was being punished for having dared to challenge the president who has ruled since 1981, but the authorities were adamant that he had forged documents to obtain legal status for his Al Ghad party.

In initial remarks after his release, Nour insisted that he would go back to practising his "role as a politician through the Ghad party". It is not clear, however, if that will be possible. He was freed on health grounds and his original five-year sentence bars him from politics for years after release.

"I think the timing of his release is important", said Hesham Kassem, the former deputy leader of Al Ghad under Nour. "They waited until [George W.] Bush was gone and they did it before [Barack] Obama's team had the opportunity to broach the subject. It is not a sign that there will be more political reform in Egypt but it removes a cornerstone of problems with Washington".

Bush administration officials, including Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state, raised Nour's case repeatedly with their Egyptian counterparts but they were steadfastly rebuffed, with Cairo insisting that it rejected all interference in a domestic matter. Some analysts at the time of Nour's jailing argued that in spite of coming a distant second in the election with about 8 per cent of the vote, the authorities perceived him as a threat because he could try to garner US support by casting himself as a credible alternative to Gamal Mubarak, the president's son who many believe is being groomed to succeed him.

Egypt's first contested presidential election was held at a time when Washington was heralding a campaign to bring democracy to the Middle East and regional governments came under pressure to enact reforms. Washington welcomed the release of the opposition politician. Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, who held talks with Egypt's FM in Washington last week, is due to visit Cairo early next month for an international donor conference on measures to rebuild Gaza after Israel's invasion.

[Cited]

FP - Ayman Nour's release - symbol and substance

Ayman Nour's release - symbol and substance

Foreign Policy Marc Lynch
Thu, 02/19/2009 - 3:28am

Ayman Nour, leader of Egypt's al-Ghad Party, has finally been released from prison after being arrested on what most people consider trumped-up charges following his challenge to Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election. (Egypt's al-Masry al-Youm has extensive coverage in Arabic here.) Nour's imprisonment was always outrageous. The Washington Post editorial page and many democracy activists framed his detention as the single most potent symbol of Mubarak's refusal of American pressures on democracy issues. As with the persecution of the civil society activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, the imprisonment of Nour sent a powerful message to Americans and to Egyptians alike: the U.S. would not seriously press democratic reform issues and could not even protect its friends.

Why now? Most Egyptian coverage ties it directly to Mubarak's desire to improve relations with Washington by removing an ongoing irritant and offering a fresh start with the Obama administration. Comments a savvy Cairo-based friend:

it is not just an overture to Obama that Mubarak wants to change the negative dynamic in the US-Egypt relationship. It is a clear message that says, “look: Bush tried for four years to pressure me. But I do things on my own timing and any pressure is counterproductive.” The message is....that if the same US approach to Egypt continues, it will only generate headaches. It was necessary to release Nour to improve the bilateral relationship, since after the 2006 Democratic takeover of Congress the Ayman Nour case became a congressional issue beyond the control of the administration.... Over the last two years Congress has put unprecedented (even if still relatively mild) pressure on Egypt by withholding $100 million in military aid (but giving Condoleeza Rice the right to waiver the withholding, which she did twice). Now Congress will not have Ayman Nour to rally support around this, and the cautious State and DoD approach to the Egyptian relationship (which is very strong in military, intelligence, and a few issues aside diplomatic terms) could very well prevail - especially as we’re seeing a new Egyptian crackdown on the tunnels to Gaza, the other big issue for Congress.

I fear that he's right about the politics of this. Nour's imprisonment was an important symbolic issue in the U.S.-Egyptian relationship. But his detention was never the only or even the most significant aspect of the regime's crackdown on political opposition, which included the arrest of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members, heavy pressures on the press and the judiciary, and much more. His release responds to the symbolic issue, but not to the substantive issue. I'm very happy for Nour and his family, and for the end of the farcical case against him. His release does not come close to reversing the authoritarian trends in Egypt I hope that this does not become an excuse to begin ignoring democratic reform, human rights and public freedoms issues in Egypt and the rest of the Arab world.

Imprisoned Egyptian Liberal Oppositionist Ayman Nour Writes Open Letter to Barack Obama

Imprisoned Egyptian liberal oppositionist Dr. Ayman Nour recently wrote an open letter to U.S. presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

The following is the letter in its entirety, in the original English, as posted on freeaymannour.org, and dated June 15, 2008: [1]

"[I Am] A Human Being, About Your Age, Who Was - And Still Is - Dreaming... of Change and Reform... In Our Countries Legitimate Dreams Turn Into Horrifying Nightmares!!"

"Senator Barack Obama

"Democratic Candidate, U.S. Presidency

"Dear Sir: These lines, which I'm not certain will see the light or reach you, were written behind the walls of an old prison in the south of Cairo. This may be the oldest prison in Egypt and the Middle East. The writer of these lines is a human being, about your age, who was - and still is - dreaming like you of change and reform in his country, this legitimate dream. However, in our countries legitimate dreams turn into horrifying nightmares!!

"Senator Barack Obama

"- The writer of these lines is Dr. Ayman Nour,

"- Born on 5^th December 1964

"- Obtained a law degree in 1985 then obtained a PhD in Constitutional Law in 1995.

"- Worked in various fields, including law, journalism and human rights as I've founded the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, the oldest and first civil organization that monitored human rights violations in Egypt.

"- Became a parliament member in Egypt in 1995 for the Middle Cairo area, the oldest and most densely-populated area in Cairo. My parliament membership continued (for 10 years) till I was imprisoned in 2005.

"- In 2004 I founded Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) liberal party after four rejections from the state.

"- I ran for the first presidential elections in Egypt's history in 2005 as candidate for the party I had founded and been elected leader of. I came in second to the current (and previous) president (1981 - 2008) in the presidential election among 10 parties. My campaign motto was "Hope for change"!!

"- The official charge in the documents is a claim that I was aware that forged powers of attorney were submitted to the state among the party establishing documents. It may surprise you to learn that the Egyptian law requires no more than 50 powers of attorney from any 50 Egyptian citizens!! We submitted thousands of powers of attorney which we had received from citizens. Although the charges were naïve, lacked logic and procedures were null because they violated my parliament immunity, the state assigned the case to a prosecution specialized in political cases (State Security Prosecution) then referred the case to a particular judge which specializes in political cases. This same judge had sentenced Saad Eddin Ibrahim and other Egyptian opposition figures to prison. He sentenced me to five years with labor in December 2005, in addition to prohibiting me from practicing any political, parliament or party profession or work for six years following the sentence!!

"- The real charge is that I committed the crime of dreaming of change!! That and competing with the president who had been ruling Egypt for 27 years!! I threatened his ream to hand down Egypt to his son who seeks to rule for another 27 years and monopolize the mechanisms of peaceful circulation of power

"Between the naïve and fake official charge and the real charge there was a considerable government package of political accusations that the official, government media sought to promote against me, all of which claim that I am supported by the United States of America's reform agenda in the region to achieve a model similar to that of Iraq!!

"This claim may be supported by a set of lies and rumors, in addition to only one truth, the fact that the U.S. Congress, Administration and media object to the injustice and revenge I and my party were and continue to be subject to, as my party also got a serious and hidden share of unfair measures."

"[My] First Presidential Campaign... Showed a Fetus That Had Started Moving and Coming to Life in the Womb of This Nation"

"Senator Obama: My real crime and the crime of the Al-Ghad liberal party is that we spoiled an old ongoing equation that the regime and party that has been ruling Egypt since 1952 have been promoting that they are the only choice in the face of the religious alternative represented in political Islam movements, particularly Muslim Brotherhood. Between the founding of Al-Ghad party in October 2004 and the presidential election in September 2005 we have provided practical and shocking evidence that an opposition liberal secular party can succeed to become a third party between an oppressive state and the Islamist Movement... a young alternative to an ageing regime, a popular and modern alternative to a domesticated opposition that has become marginalized, and a reasonable alternative that possesses the dream and the ability to fulfill this dream without disturbing the principle and priority of stability!!

"During that first presidential campaign that lasted for only 18 days we have presented a model of an election campaign that was the poorest ever but the most capable of awakening stagnant dreams and young capacity. The results, despite blatant rigging and terrorization, as well as monopolizing the sources of funding, media and state power and resources, showed a fetus that had started moving and coming to life in the womb of this nation and in the heart of the region that had been swimming in oppression."

"What Happened To Me Was Not Only an Assassination of My Rights as a Human Being [and] Citizen, Nor an Assassination of My Political Party... It Was an Assassination of the Last Promising Civil Reformist Dream"

"Senator Obama: What happened to me was not only an assassination of my rights as a human being, citizen, nor just an assassination of my political party and its right to exist. It was an assassination of the last promising civil reformist dream, a confiscation of the right of my generation in this country and in the region to dream again of a peaceful, civil and reformist change in the shadow of the 'flying wolf's head'!!

"I admit that we have not felt alone due to the objection and condemnation on part of the parliaments of the free world, the European Parliament (which issued a strong decision in 2008) of what I was and continue to be subjected to. There was also reservations expressed by the U.S. Congress, Administration and President Bush in May 2007 in Prague and in May 2008 in Sharm al-Sheikh, as well as Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice on many of her visits to Cairo following our first - and last - meeting during her first visit which she had postponed more than once due to my first arrest.

"However, Egypt's regime has become accustomed to such pressures and has always proven its ability to ease them through an exchange of temporary regional roles and interests taking advantage of the seasonal nature of such pressures and its ability to maximize and play on U.S. and Western fears of the spread of fundamentalism in the region, particularly the Hamas model. The Egyptian regime also takes full advantage of the constant tension in the region and the tarnished image of democratic reform due to events in Iraq. Egypt's regime also bets on the weakening criticism against its violations during the U.S. election and administration change. Egypt's regime may take advantage of the time the new American administration may need to organize and fortify itself and hand down the country to the president's son while the world is busy with U.S. election and White House changes.

"I and My Generation of Reformists In Egypt, The Arab Region And The Middle East Do Not Only Share Your Feelings... We Also Share Many of Your Campaign Opinions"

"Senator Obama: Me and the generation I belong to - in Egypt and the Arab region - which views you as a gifted and inspiring model for the dream of freedom and change and look forward to hearing from you - today, tomorrow and in the future - what may renews our legitimate dreams of freedom, justice and peace and render hope and the values of freedom and progress victorious over the frustrations brought about by old oppressive regimes that have for long decades enjoyed the support of major states in a losing bid between interests and principles where the values of oppression won to the disadvantage of principles and interests alike.

"I and my generation of reformists in Egypt, the Arab region and the Middle East do not only share your feelings because you belong to this generation and have become a leading figure of it, we also share many of your campaign opinions, as, for example:

"1. Concerning the withdrawal from Iraq: We agree with you, despite the differing reasons, of the importance of a quick withdrawal from Iraq making sure not to leave any permanent bases that may give constant rise and justification to extremism and terrorism. We clearly say that the Iraq model has become a major obstacle in the face of Arab reformists as regimes have used it and simple citizens fear a reform dream that would lead to a nightmare similar to that of the Iraq scarecrow. It's as if it is the fate of reformists and people in the Arab world to pay the price twice, the first time due to the presence of oppressive regimes, such as the Saddam Hussein and other regimes, and the second time with the elimination of such regimes and their replacement with chaos and bloodshed that render oppression the only option.

"2. Concerning the Peace Process with the aim of establishing a Palestinian and an Israeli state: The declaration on 06/06/2008 considering Jerusalem an issue to be decided by negotiation between both parties renewed all of the region's peoples' hopes to reach a final, fail solution to this issue which has consumed the blood and capacities of the people and opened the door to fundamentalism, terrorism and oppression, each of which are justified as long as this issue remains unresolved.

"3. Dialogue with Iran and Syria: Recent history affirms this dialectic relation between the person sitting in the White House and the Iranian tendency. Your presence in the White House will end the Ahmadi Nijad phase. When Clinton was U.S. president, Iran elected the reformist Khatami, and when the White House methodology changed Ahmadi Nijad came to power. Your coming to power in the U.S. will be a good reason for the end of the Nijad era to be replaced by Larijani or another leader capable of changing the roles and natures of the phase. This will also definitely reflect on the general mood in Damascus and Lebanon.

"4. The priority of democratic reform in the region: We agree with the announcement you made on June 4^th criticizing the policy of depending on Middle East dictators. However, some people linked the Minnesota speech to pressure on oil states!! Now remains the issue of the priority of democratic reform in the region in general and the importance of providing a clear vision as the right means to helping this region out of its fall and saving it from the terrorism and fundamentalism generated by oppressive regimes that monopolized means to peaceful circulation of power and that lacked any of the good governance characteristics. We still await, during the coming stage of your campaign, a clearer position towards issues of reform and freedoms through the agenda to be expected from a law professional, a lecturer of constitutional law, an attorney who has contributed for over 11 years (1993 - 2004) to the field of human rights and the Democratic Party candidate who has always been concerned with such issues, whether in power or not."

"The Supporters of Reform And Freedom, Headed By Prisoners of Consciousness in Egypt, Syria, Palestine And Other Countries, Await Your Declared and Fixed Position Supporting... Their Hope in Change"

"Senator Obama: The supporters of reform and freedom, headed by prisoners of consciousness in Egypt, Syria, Palestine and other countries await your declared and fixed position supporting their rights to life and freedom and their hope in change. Prisoners of consciousness in oppressive countries are deprived of the simplest human rights and subjected to the worst forms of violation and physical and psychological pressures in the absence of the justice of litigation and natural law. The authorities now use the incidents that took place in Abu-Ghraib and other detention places located outside the United States as a justification to violate the rights of innocent callers for peaceful reform in their countries saying that America, the country of freedom, is committing the same acts!!

"Your Remark in the Minnesota June 4 Speech... May Not Agree With the Ambitions of Arab Liberals, Particularly in Egypt, Syria and Palestine"

"Senator Obama: Your remark in the Minnesota June 4^th speech on how serious it is to depend on and support dictatorships may be satisfactory but may not agree with the ambitions of Arab liberals, particularly in Egypt, Syria and Palestine where the disaster is harder. I only point out to parliament figures behind bars and paying a high price for their positions. They are threatened with murder through illness and pressures. I will not speak of my condition. I mean other figures for example in Syria, such as the Damascus Declaration group which includes former parliamentarians and liberals, such as liberal lawyer Anwar al-Binni and others. I also mention Palestinian parliament member Marwan al-Barghouty who is detained in Israel. The real hope lies in a strong alternative to Abbas capable of bringing balance in the light of the popularity enjoyed by Hamas.

"As for Egypt, in addition to my situation, which I will not further detail, there are detainees in accordance with the Emergency Law from Al-Ghad party as a result of the April 6^th strike and incidents, others from the Kefaya movement, Al-Karam party and Al-Amal (Labor) party, all of which are prohibited by law!! There are also Islamist and Muslim Brotherhood detainees and those referred to military trial. More important and in addition victims of oppression in Egypt, are the sources of such oppression, which in my estimate are:

"1. Article 76 of the Constitution, amended in 2005 and 2007 to eliminate any real competition to the president and the heir. The conditions are restrictive to the point of tailoring the position to the president and his son.

"2. Article 77, amended in 1980 to extend the president's term to become unlimited

"3. Constitutional amendment introduced in 2007 eliminating judicial supervision of elections. This results in further organized rigging of any parliament, local and presidential elections.

"4. Violating the principle and independence of litigation and public prosecution

"5. The regime monopolizes all media and means of real influence

"6. The state controls the establishing of political parties and interferes with their work, as well as robbing them (as was the case with Al-Ghad party)

"7. The continued enforcement of the Emergency Law for 27 years and applying it to political parties (as was the case with Al-Ghad party) and using it to prevent gatherings, demonstrations, expression, etc., particularly during the peaceful strike organized on April 6^th.

"8. Using the directed judicial rulings, infiltrated judiciary and the government-controlled parliament to commit all forms of rights violations that allow those in power to monopolize power and terrorize opposition and reformists under a false cover of legitimacy.

"9. Confusing the state with the ruling party and ensuring that other parties remain weak. Exerting strong pressures on civil society institutions with the aim of controlling them or economically and legally restricting them.

"10. Promoting aggressive sentiments against all calls for reform under the pretext that they are pushed by foreign hands and echoing foreign agendas in surprising double standards as the regime seeks foreign support and cooperation while internally inciting aggressive sentiments against the West and accusing those who seek to communicate with it concerning political reform in particular of being its agents!!"

"We Await Much From You as a Democratic Candidate and President Expected to Lead the Whole World Towards a Real and Fair Change"

"Senator Obama: We await much from you as a Democratic candidate and president expected to lead the whole world towards a real and fair change. Your generation and all the powers of reform, democrats and liberals in Egypt and the Arab world hope that January 20^thbecomes a day of freedom and democracy, not only in the United States of America but in the whole world primarily by rectifying the wrongs caused by long years of supporting dictators under the pretext of protecting interests at the account of principles.

"Please accept my sincere wishes for your success.

"Yours sincerely, Dr. Ayman Nour, Tura Mazraa Prison, 15 June 2008"

From Ayman Nour to Obama

Ayman Nour to Obama: I am Imprisoned in Egypt for the Charge of Threatening the Dream of the President's Successor

Former Ghad Party President Dr. Ayman Nour sent a message to Barack Obama, the democratic nominee to the American presidential elections.

Nour started his message by introducing himself from the oldest prison in Egypt and the Middle East. He was sentenced to five years in prison for forging powers of attorney required to establish Al-Ghad Party; a charge that he described as 'naïve'.

He said that the real charge is that he was a competitor to President Mubarak in last year's presidential elections. He threatened his dream to bequeath the presidential post to his son.

Nour indicated that a number of US officials have pressurized the Egyptian regime to release him yet to no avail. He stressed that the regime in Egypt is accustomed to such moral pressures and proved its ability to swap them with the regional interests, utilizing the seasonal nature of such pressures.

Nour expressed his support to Obama's stance as regards the situation in Iraq and the necessity to withdraw the American forces from there.

He added that Obama's references during his election tours about the risks of depending on dictator regimes do not correspond with the aspirations of Arab liberals.

He expressed his wish, being one of the generation of Obama, that January 20, 2009 be the date that the new American President will assume his post and that it would be a celebration for freedom and democracy in the whole world, repairing what was spoiled by supporting despotic rulers under the claim of preserving interests.

FREEING A PARLAMENTARIAN

Steven Stalinsky *
The New York Sun

A former Egyptian parliamentarian and leader of Al-Ghad Party (the Party of Tomorrow), Dr. Ayman Nour, became an international cause celebre following his arrest last year by the Egyptian government for forging signatures on the petition to secure the formation of his new party - an allegation he has denied vehemently. He has been locked in a prison cell for the last 142 days or 3,408 hours.

According to freeaymannour.org, Al-Ghad stands for liberal and democratic values, with a focus on human rights. Other pillars of the party are encouraging constitutional reform, limiting presidential powers, and creating open, multi-candidate presidential elections in Egypt.

Freeaymannour.org offers up-to-date articles from the international press regarding Dr. Nour's case, as well as information from Western legislators who have spoken out on his behalf. For example, the site highlights U.S. House of Representatives Resolution 82, from March 3, 2005, which "express[ed] the grave concern of Congress" regarding Dr. Nour's arrest. A December 24 statement from the White House, which called Dr. Nour's five year prison sentence "deeply troubling," is also posted at freeaymannour.org.

The following are some examples of the dozens of personal letters and emails in support of Dr. Nour, from influential Europeans who also have been outraged by his imprisonment and are active in working to secure his release:

A text adopted by the European Parliament, "Urges the Egyptian authorities not to undermine the prospects recently opened ... to multi-candidate presidential elections, and to press ahead with democratic reforms; expresses its deep concern ... about the conviction of Ayman Nour ... regards this as a seriously retrograde step and calls on the Egyptian authorities to make every effort to ensure that this case is correctly dealt with." From a letter sent to freeaymannour.org by Czech politician Jana Hybaskova, member of the European Parliament, on March 8.

"[We the European Parliament] welcome and support the worldwide calls to release Ayman Nour and strongly urge the Egyptian authorities to ensure that Ayman Nour is well treated and not sub ject to torture or other ill treatment and to further ensure that he is given prompt, regular and unrestricted access to his lawyers, doctors (as he's diabetic) and family." A January 18 e-mail from an Italian politician and member of the European Parliament, Emma Bonino.

Most importantly, freeaymannour.org provides visitors an opportunity to sign a petition addressed to President Mubarak of Egypt urging Dr. Nour's release. It calls the prison sentence "an attack on the nascent initiative to a free political life in Egypt to move towards democracy and pluralism."

The petition asks the international community to support Dr. Nour and the struggle for a free and democratic Egypt. It states that all individuals and associations who care for the future of Egypt and of the Arab and Muslim world as a whole to add their signature.

To date there have been more than 600 signers including Dr. Nour's wife Gameela Ismail; Arab reformers, such as Saad Eddin Ibrahim; 27 members of the European Parliament from Finland, Britain, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland, France, and Germany; members of academia; journalists; activists; researchers; students; housewives; lawyers, and concerned citizens of the world.

The signers are from countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia, the Palestinian Territories, Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, U.A.E., Libya, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, America, Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, and the Ivory Coast.

The Web site also requests visitors to "officially" ask Egyptian authorities to visit Dr. Nour in prison to help ensure his safety and to direct such requests to: 1. Habib el Adly, Egyptian minister of Interior, Lazoghly, Cairo, Egypt, Fax no. 202-795-7286. 2. General Mahmoud Wagdy, Head of the Egyptian prisons, Kolaly, Cairo, Egypt.

"Chirac must raise case of Ayman Nour to President Mubarak", says Graham Watson

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 19th Apr 2006

Graham WATSON (Lib Dem, UK), leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, calls on French President Jacques Chirac to raise the case of Ayman Nour during his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo today. In the European Parliament, Liberals and Democrats have been at the forefront of the international campaign calling for the liberation of the imprisoned leader of Egypt's democratic opposition party who stood last year as a candidate for Egypt's presidential elections.

"Jacques Chirac will probably discuss the Iranian nuclear stand-off as well as the Israel-Palestinian conflict. He must also speak up to promote democracy in the Middle East. Barely a month ago, the European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the liberation of Ayman Nour. Under an ALDE initiative, a letter jointly signed by MEPs and Members of the US House of Representatives was also sent to the Egyptian authorities. If there is no positive evolution on the question of his release, it is also because EU Heads of State do not speak up with one voice to follow up on human rights violations", declared Graham Watson.

Graham Watson also raised concern over the recent clashes which erupted in Egypt between Muslims and Copts that led to bloodshed as well as attacks on several Coptic churches in Alexandria. "Human rights, religious freedom and democracy are all part of the "political dialogue and reform" Chapter of the Action Plan that the EU and Egypt are currently negotiating in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy. Liberals and Democrats urge for progress to be made. The liberation of Ayman Nour would be a step in the right direction towards solid partnership", he concluded.

BBC News - Egyptian opposition leader jailed

The Egyptian government says the court trying Nour is neutral

Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour has received a five-year jail term after being found guilty of fraud.

Nour, who came second in a presidential poll in September, was first held in January this year accused of falsifying signatures to register his party, Ghad.

Egypt denies Nour's claim that the charges are politically motivated. And the US has voiced concern at the trial.

Hundreds of Nour's supporters at the court shouted slogans against President Hosni Mubarak as the verdict was given.

"Hosni Mubarak's rule is illegal! The trial is illegal!" they chanted.

According to the BBC's Bethany Bell in Cairo, the streets near the court were full of riot police and Ghad party supporters.

Nour has been in hospital after starting a hunger strike earlier this month in protest at his detention.

US concern

His lawyer, Amir Salim, is quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying the decision against him will "go into the dustbin of history".

"This is a political verdict that will be annulled by the appeal court," he said.

A co-defendant in the trial, Ayman Ismail, had admitted forging documents for Nour - but later withdrew his testimony, saying the confession was forced out of him with threats against his family.

Despite the charges against him, Nour was allowed to compete in presidential polls, where his party finished second to Mr Mubarak's.

He lost his assembly seat to a candidate from the ruling party in November.

The has US earlier said it was watching Nour's trial, which it regards as a test of Cairo's tolerance of dissent.

State department spokesman Adam Ereli said this month that the US was calling on Egypt "to make every effort to ensure that this trial conforms to international standards".

BBC News - Egypt court rebuffs Nour petition

Egypt court rebuffs Nour petition

Nour is caged in court as is the practice in Egypt

An Egyptian appeals court has fined opposition figure Ayman Nour and rejected his request for a new tribunal to try him on charges of forgery.

Mr Nour's lawyers said the court had given no explanation for the 9,000 Egyptian pound ($1,500) penalty.

The defence had argued that the court colluded with the prosecution by preventing their client from speaking.

Mr Nour, who was second in last month's presidential election, is accused of forging signatures to set up his party.

"The claims upon which Ayman Nour based the reasons for his appeal have no basis in truth or law," the court said in its ruling.

Punishment

Defence lawyer Amir Salem, in an interview with AFP news agency, criticised the court's conduct.

"This fine amounts to a punishment, and should have only been imposed if the defence's request had been made with a view to slowing or precluding progress in the trial, which was not the case here," he said.

Forty-year-old Mr Nour, who heads the Ghad (Tomorrow) party, denies the charges against him and says he is the victim of a plot to block his rise on the political scene.

He was arrested in January and was detained for six weeks without charge until his release on bail. The detention raised concerns in Washington.

A co-defendant in the trial, Ayman Ismail, had admitted forging documents for Mr Nour - but he has since withdrawn his testimony, saying the confession was forced out of him with threats against his family.

If Mr Nour is convicted he could face up to 15 years in prison.

Inside Egypt's Opposition - Ayman Nour 2005

BBC News - 'Travel ban' on Egypt party chief

'Travel ban' on Egypt party chief

Nour was one of Rice's most honoured guests on Monday

Egyptian police have prevented opposition politician Ayman Nour from leaving the country to speak at the European Parliament, he says.

Mr Nour is due to stand trial next month for forging signatures on his party's registration documents.

The young lawyer called his treatment "unconstitutional". He says the charges against him are politically motivated.

On Monday, he was one of a number of opposition activists who met US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

He was on his way to Strasbourg to address the parliament when he says he was stopped at Cairo's international airport.

"This is unconstitutional and it is politically motivated," Mr Nour told the Associated Press news agency.

Presidential challenge

Mr Nour will stand trial next week in a criminal court along with six other defendants from his al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party.

He says he hopes to stand against President Hosni Mubarak in country's first multi-candidate presidential elections due in September.

Mr Nour was released on bail on 12 March after six weeks in prison over the alleged forgery case. His detention without charge raised concern in Washington, which called for his release.

If he is convicted he would be disqualified from the presidential race.

On her recent visit Ms Rice criticised Cairo for cracking down on dissenters and called on it to ensure the upcoming election was free and fair. Among her talks with opposition figures on Monday, she held a 45-minute meeting with Mr Nour.

BBC News - Winds of change blow through Egypt politics

Winds of change blow through Egypt politics

Among all the opposition protests have been pro-Mubarak rallies

"Political congestion" is the phrase Egyptians are using to describe a deepening stand-off between the opposition and the government.

The opposition is not strong enough to bring down the government. But the government - wary of a possible international outcry - cannot quash the opposition by force.

Two snapshots of what is happening on the streets of Cairo illustrate the situation quite dramatically.

On the day parliament approved a change to the constitution to allow Egyptians to choose their president in a direct vote for the first time in their history, the opposition movement, Kifaya, called a news conference to denounce the proposed amendment.

Kifaya says the change puts insurmountable hurdles in the path of anyone wanting to challenge President Hosni Mubarak, who has led Egypt for 24 years and may still run for another six-year term in elections in September.

We believe in democracy and political pluralism. What we want is civilian rule within an Islamic framework. There should be no contradiction between democracy and Sharia Mohammad al-Sayyed Habeeb Muslim Brotherhood

Shortly before the opposition news conference was due to start, the ruling National Democratic Party bussed its "supporters" - a crowd of poor women from the countryside - to the venue, carrying banners and chanting slogans in support of Mr Mubarak.

One woman I spoke to did not appear to know why she was there. "It seems that there is an election," she added, oblivious to the man trying to stop her talking to the media.

Demonstrations everywhere

As the pro-Mubarak chanting continued, members of the Kifaya movement were forced to retreat and held a chaotic news conference inside the building.

Outside, the riot police threw a cordon around the entire area, turning the political stand-off into a real traffic jam.

The second "snapshot" incident occured a few hours later, when the interior ministry deployed 10 armoured trucks full of soldiers in riot gear and dozens of plain-clothed policemen to prevent another demonstration in a different part of town.

A group of engineers had called a protest outside their union, which has been under government control for the past 10 years. The engineers want to hold elections for a new board.

Riot police have been out in force and hundreds of protesters arrested

The sight of so many anti-riot police ranged against a handful of men was a sign of the regime's growing nervousness in the face of mounting frustration and resentment among Egypt's relatively small, but increasingly bold, political class.

In recent months, protesters have taken to the streets in a way not seen in Egypt for decades.

Men and women calling for Mr Mubarak to step down dare to make their demands in public demonstrations. Many protesters have been arrested, because under emergency law, the right to demonstrate is severely restricted.

The change in mood came last year with the emergence of the Kifaya movement, an umbrella organisation that brings together secularists and Islamists.

Kifaya, which means "enough" in Arabic, is a short and pithy way of expressing the resentment and desire for change its members feel, but it is not yet the political mass movement it aspires to be.

Tough restrictions

Under the constitutional amendment allowing multi-candidate elections, only a political party that has been registered for five years and holds 5% of seats in parliament can nominate a candidate.

Existing party leaders will be exempted from this restriction for September's election. But independent candidates must be endorsed by 250 elected members of parliament and local councils.

These conditions, the opposition says, are absurd because they will make a nominee dependent on the support of his political rivals to run for the presidency.

If the elections were not rigged, I would be happy with a requirement of 50% backing in parliament Ayman Nour Opposition leader

But the government says constraints on presidential candidacy are quite common in other parts of the world.

Parliamentary speaker Dr Ahmad Fathi Serour - a stalwart of the ruling NDP - points to the French constitution, which stipulates that the candidate must have 500 signatures of elected politicians; and to the constitution of Indonesia, which requires that parties have 15% of seats in the parliament to nominate a presidential candidate.

The problem is not the 5%, says Ayman Nour, the articulate and ambitious leader of the new al-Ghad party (Tomorrow).

"Everyone in Egypt knows that the parliament elections in Egypt are rigged," he says. "If the elections were not rigged, I would be happy with a requirement of 50% backing in parliament."

Biggest party banned

Under the new constitutional amendment, the country's largest and most popular group will also be effectively barred from nominating a candidate. The Muslim Brotherhood is outlawed as the Egyptian constitution bans religious political parties.

The group itself says there can never be true democracy without its involvement.

Ayman Nour addresses supporters at a chaotic rally

Deputy leader Mohammad al-Sayyed Habeeb denies any contradiction between democracy and the application of Islamic Sharia law, which the group is calling for.

"We believe in democracy and political pluralism," Mr Habeeb tells me at the group's office in Cairo.

"What we want is civilian rule within an Islamic framework. Just as there is civilian rule within a liberal, or capitalist or socialist framework, there can also be civilian rule within an Islamic framework.

"There should be no contradiction between democracy and Sharia, which has to be implemented, but only with the full backing of the people and never to be imposed upon them."

Some analysts believe the ban on the Muslim Brotherhood has only added to its popularity. Imad el-Din Shahin of the American University in Cairo says there may be some exaggeration of the power and popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Dr Shahin says that the Egyptians sympathise with the underdog and "the Muslim Brothers have been denied their legitimate rights".

Cut off from politics

But despite the current intense activity on the political scene in Egypt, the majority of Egypt's 70 million people remain cut off from politics and more significantly from the agenda of the opposition.

"We are farmers, we don't understand politics," said a ferryman who transports farmers and their fresh produce from a small island in the Nile to the urban districts of Cairo.

Some of the passengers laughed and giggled when I asked them whether they would vote again for Mr Mubarak in the forthcoming presidential election. They all said yes.

Perhaps it is not surprising that they feel the way they do about Mr Mubarak.

Many of them have grown up with him, and they continue to be fed a diet by the state media of Mr Mubarak as a great hero, almost a national symbol.

And as long as political activity is so severely restricted, and the government keeps its stranglehold on television and radio, then the opposition will continue to find it difficult to reach out to the wider public.

The Washington Post : Egypt Holds Candidate Despite Vow Of Reform

Egypt Holds Candidate Despite Vow Of Reform

By Daniel Williams

Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, March 12, 2005; Page A01

CAIRO, March 11 -- Two weeks after President Hosni Mubarak announced that Egypt would hold multi-candidate presidential elections, the first politician to say he would run was sitting in jail.

Inmate No. 1387 at Tora jail is Ayman Nour, a lawyer and member of parliament. His normal residence is a penthouse apartment decorated with bronze French Empire-style knickknacks, gigantic gilt mirrors and a plaster image of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt blowing upward.

Ayman Nour, right, a candidate for president of Egypt, is surrounded by police at a court appearance in late January. (Nasser Nouri -- AP)

Nour, whose small Tomorrow Party was legalized in October and holds six seats in Egypt's 454-member parliament, is only one of thousands of Egyptian political figures jailed during decades of authoritarian rule. Yet since his arrest Jan. 29 on suspicion of forging official documents, his fate has become intertwined with the destiny of political change in Egypt.

State Department and European Union officials, all pressing for democratic reform, have complained about his detention. Pro-government reformists who dispute Nour on the details and pace of change nonetheless express concern that his internment will discredit their own efforts. Government officials reject complaints that Nour is being persecuted and insist that his case is a domestic legal question and not the business of outsiders. And the people of Cairo, legendarily indifferent to politics, are debating the justice of his case.

The extent of Nour's popularity is difficult to gauge -- there have been no polls on prospective presidential candidates. Mustafa Kamel Sayed, a political science professor at Cairo University, said recently that Nour might be able to win 20 or even 30 percent of the vote in a race against Mubarak.

Regardless, his arrest exposes the uncertainty of a government that feels itself under siege, observers say. The Bush administration has singled out Egypt as overripe for reform. Political demonstrators are becoming increasingly loud and anti-Mubarak, even though they are still far outnumbered by phalanxes of police officers. The government appears reluctant to risk letting an independent politician run free.

"Fear makes for political mistakes. Everything is up in the air, and you will find cases like Nour's," said Hala Mustafa, editor in chief of the al-Ahram Democracy Review, part of a government-backed reform research group. She declined to comment on the merits of Nour's case.

Aida Seif Dawla, a longtime left-wing activist and human rights campaigner, said it was "an extremely weak moment for the government. It's not just Nour. Far from it. They pick up people handing out leaflets at the book fair. The government wants to give the appearance of making a new start, but it's not going to take any risks."

At first blush, Nour seems an unlikely political martyr. He campaigned for competitive presidential elections, but he is far from a revolutionary. In an interview two days before his arrest, he predicted that whatever the conditions, this year's election would simply extend Mubarak's 24-year reign for another six years. In October, he told a reporter, "We love and appreciate President Mubarak, but we love this nation as well and would like to develop it like other countries."

Said Gamila Ismail, Nour's wife and political aide: "Ayman was the most surprised of all about his arrest. He never gave it a second thought."

Nour had taken positions recently, however, that were daring by the standards of Egyptian political discourse. On the eve of a meeting between Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party and opposition groups, he sent a letter demanding that Mubarak attend the conference; otherwise, Nour said he would not. This assertion of equality irritated the president, party insiders said. Nour was jailed three days before the conference opened.

Nour's associates say he also had told them that he thought Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, was pressing her husband to arrange for their son Gamal to succeed him.

That kind of talk is risky, despite an easing of repression that has brought life to a political scene still restricted by quarter-century-old emergency laws. Security agents telephone foreign correspondents' Egyptian assistants to ask whom they are talking to and about what. This week, when the Tomorrow Party issued the first edition of its newspaper -- in which Nour announced his candidacy -- police held up distribution for a day to review the articles.

"Nour's problem is that he has been acting in excess of his real political influence," said Ali Abdel Fattah, an official of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, an Islamic-based organization once associated with violence in Egypt, is banned from politics but is regarded as the country's biggest opposition force.

On the morning of Jan. 29, Nour received notification that his immunity from prosecution as a member of parliament was being lifted. He rushed to the People's Assembly building and was told that police were investigating forgeries among documents he submitted last year to the government in his bid to have his party legalized. When legislators -- 85 percent of whom belong to Mubarak's party -- voted to expose Nour to prosecution, he responded heatedly: "I put myself in the hands of God and the Egyptian people. All know I am innocent." He turned to the head of parliament and labeled him "unjust." The legislature later struck the words from the record.

A few minutes after his arrest, police searched his apartment, while his wife and two children were present. The 15 agents went through computer disks, inspected his medicine cabinet and even took samples of pipe tobacco, Ismail said

Prosecutors and a court have until Tuesday to decide whether to press charges or release him. Late Thursday, prosecutors announced the release of one of Nour's associates, Ayman Barakat, who also was detained on forgery charges.

In effect, the stage is set for a test of Egypt's reform efforts and its relations with the United States, which provides the country $2 billion in annual aid. On Jan. 31, State Department spokesman Richard A. Boucher said, "The arrest, in our minds, raises questions about the outlook for democratic process in Egypt." Two weeks later, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice told Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit about the Bush administration's "strong concerns."

Although Egyptian officials are reluctant to publicly comment on the case, they insist that the allegations are valid. "The issue of Ayman Nour is an issue related to criminal accusations," Aboul Gheit said in an interview. "There are no political considerations. It remains with the attorney general to decide, without interference of outside powers."

The case hinges on the activities of a Tomorrow Party member who told police he forged numerous documents with signatures of people purporting to back the party's legalization bid -- all at Nour's request. Only 50 such papers are needed, but Nour provided more than 2,000. Prosecutors contend that more than 1,000 were forgeries.

Nour's attorney, Amir Salem, a human rights activist who has been jailed nine times, said Nour forged no documents and the informer was a plant. "I've never seen a frame-up prepared like this," he said.

Nour, 40, has been involved in politics since high school. His father was a pioneer member of the Wafd Party, a group that dates from the 1920s. "I remember seeing him 21 years ago get out of his late-model Mercedes and go right into student meetings to play politics," Mazen Mustafa, a Tomorrow Party member, said of the younger Nour. "He was different from others. He liked to let others speak."

Fifteen years ago, Nour published a book presenting liberalism as an alternative to Islamic politics. In 1994, he won a seat in parliament representing Cairo's Bab ash-Shariya district, a teeming neighborhood of butchers and farm supply shops. He broke with Wafd five years ago because he came to believe the party was too tame, ran again in Bab ash-Shariya and won. "He is ambitious, that is for sure," said Wael Nawara, another Tomorrow member.

In parliament, Nour carried out investigations of everything from bread prices to torture, endearing himself to his impoverished constituency, supporters say. He operated a charity office and community center in Bab ash-Shariya that provided medical advice, a hall for free weddings and school lessons for children.

On Wednesday, at a teahouse in Bab ash-Shariya, a laborer said Nour was guilty only of "trying to be president and be democratic. . . . He cares about this area. He paved sidewalks and planted trees."

A critic arrived and began to sing the praises of Mubarak: "He should stay in office forever. Ayman Nour must have done something wrong or he wouldn't be in jail."

"This is democracy?" countered the laborer. "Anyone who speaks up can end up in the same trouble."

That night, Nour's supporters held a candlelight vigil to demand his release. About 50 demonstrators and at least three times as many police officers showed up.

BBC News - Jailed Nour tests Egypt's democracy

Jailed Nour tests Egypt's democracy

By Malcolm Brabant

Ayman Nour has been held in an Egyptian jail since January

Supporters of Egypt's newest political party are calling on the government to free their leader, Ayman Nour, who is currently being detained on what they claim are trumped up charges.

Party of Tomorrow leader Mr Nour is regarded as a potential presidential candidate.

But his continued imprisonment is damaging his chances of running against President Hosni Mubarak later in 2005.

Mr Nour has been held in custody since the end of January.

He was arrested on allegations that he forged documents used to secure legal status for his Party of Tomorrow which was formed last autumn.

His wife Gamila Ismail believes the Egyptian authorities are trying to frame him.

Accusing him of forging petitions, this is just crazy, it is nonsense. He didn't have any reason to do this Gamila Ismail, Nour's wife

"If these allegations stick, this is going to end his political career," she says.

Ms Ismail says that when security officers checked their penthouse in the expensive district of Zamalek, they were particularly interested in his tobacco boxes and medication.

"The lawyers explained to me later on that they were trying to find something illegal such as drugs."

International concern

The United States, which is trying to force the Arab world to become more democratic, has expressed deep concern about Mr Nour's continued detention.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told her Egyptian counterpart that she hopes "the issue is resolved soon".

Egyptian officials resent what they perceive as American interference in what they insist is a legal, not political matter.

Nour supporters' main demand is greater democracy

Ibrahim Rafeir, a member of parliament with the ruling National Democratic Party says: "The case of Ayman Nour is in the hands of the Egyptian judicial system and the judicial system is just.

"Each and every one of us resists any foreign interference."

Last October the Nours and their supporters were celebrating the inauguration of their liberal, secular party.

Stagnation

The Party of Tomorrow's most important demand is for greater democracy.

Ayman Nour told me in October: "We love and appreciate President Mubarak, but we love this nation as well and would like it to develop like other countries."

Ayman Nour is really a very clever political animal. He might get 20% or 30% of the vote Mustafa Kamel al-Sayed Political scientist

Following a wave of angry demonstrations by pro-democracy campaigners defying a ban on street protests, as well as increasing pressure from the US, Mr Mubarak has agreed to allow challengers to contest the presidential election.

But 25 years of political stagnation have left the Egyptian opposition struggling to find a candidate of sufficient stature and charisma to stand against Mr Mubarak.

Some analysts believe that Ayman Nour, a former journalist, lawyer and publisher, possesses the necessary profile to make substantial inroads against the president.

Mustafa Kamel al-Sayed, a Professor of Political Science at Cairo University, says: "Ayman Nour is really a very clever political animal.

"He might get 20% or 30% of the vote. But it is this perception that he might be capable of getting a large number of votes that would get the government to try to deprive him of this opportunity of running as a presidential candidate."

Discredited

Rumours surface daily in Cairo that Mr Nour is going to be released soon.

Could this signal the end of Egypt's 25 years of political stagnation?

And that he is being visited in jail by senior officials who keep demanding to know if he is going to declare his intention to run.

Ms Ibrahim fears that even if her husband is freed, he will be charged so that a trial hangs over his head and discredits him at election time.

"Accusing him of forging petitions, this is just crazy, it is nonsense. He didn't have any reason to do this," she says.

The case of Ayman Nour is being seen by many analysts as a true test of President Mubarak's commitment to greater democracy.

The challenge for Egypt is to protect its stability, while easing what Mr Mubarak's critics regard as some of the country's more authoritarian tendencies.