El Ghad Denounces Violence against Christians in Nagaa Hammady

El Ghad Denounces Violence against Christians in Nagaa Hammady

El Ghad Party denounces the terrorist attack against a number of Egyptian citizens which took place as they were leaving Nagaa Hamady’s Church in Quena after Christmas Mass. We see this incident which left seven dead, including the policeman in charge of securing the Church, and many injured, in the context of an accumulation of many previous incidents, which went unresolved as the perpetrators were rarely punished and the law thrown aside. This has culminated an atmosphere of lawlessness as the State failed to protect its citizens and enforce the law, instead resorting to failed political tactics.

This last tragic incident is yet another sign on the failure of a tyrannical regime and the political, social and economic consequences of corruption, oppression, incompetence and misgovernment. This should not, however, blind us from seeing a number of other alarming issues;

• The gross negligence on the part of the security authorities which failed in securing this important church on Christmas day.
• A rise in the culture of violence and conflict in place of tolerance, co-existence, equality and citizenship.
• Abuse of religious sentiments to promote hatred instead of love, compassion and tolerance.
• Failure of Egyptian Media and Educational Institutions in spreading values of tolerance and citizenship as many channels and outlets have been hijacked by extremists and fanatics.

El Ghad Party renews its constant demands to resolve these issues and address the grievances of Christian citizens and all Egyptians. El Ghad presents its liberal reform agenda as basis for coexistence, tolerance, liberty and progress.

El Ghad Party conveys its deepest sympathies and condolences to families of the victims and presents the following demands:

• Swift pursuit and trial of the perpetrators.
• Accountability for negligence and failure to properly secure the church.
• Dismissal of the Minister of Interiors and other officials found responsible for gross negligence.
• Allowing peaceful demonstrators to express their grievances in accordance with the law and the constitution.
• Putting an end to failed policies of denial, cover-up and compromise which has rendered the law ineffective.

To all Egyptian citizens, El Ghad calls for resorting to reason, self-restraint, dialogue and transparency in order to resolve chronic problems of sectarian nature before it is too late

Egypt's Ayman Nour takes HR chief to court

Ayman Nour, opposition leader of Ghad Party sues NCHR for neglecting his plight

CAIRO (Marwa Awad)

After four years of filing complaints of prison torture, jailed opposition leader
Ayman Nour has filed suit against Boutros Boutros Ghali demanding one
million pounds ($181,750) and accusing the former chairman of the National
Council for Human Rights of failing to perform his duties.

"Nour's condition worsens daily behind the walls of Egypt's Tora prison,"
activist Jameela Ismail, Ayman Nour's wife, told AlArabiya.net.

Real motives behind arrest Democracy activists believe Ayman Nour was jailed for running up against Mubarak in 2005 Nour was sentenced during the 2005 Egyptian presidential elections to five years in prison on charges of forging many signatures that his opposition Ghad party needed to get legal recognition, charges vehemently denied by Nour. Human rights organizations and democracy advocates however believe the real causes of arrest were Nour's decision to run against President Hosni Mubarak in the September 2005 elections, in which Nour secured 13 percent of the votes, according to independent surveys. “Ayman Nur’s trial, like the violence against voters in the parliamentary elections, is a terrible advertisement for President Mubarak’s supposed reform agenda, and for Egypt’s judiciary,” Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division said in a 2005 HRW report. Since his arrest, Nour has repeatedly filed complaints to the council detailing the physical and emotional abuse he says he faces daily at the hands of Tora prison guards. The council responded by setting up a committee of inquiry into Nour's situation. "What we have seen from the council was one single visit in 2005 followed by promises to look into Ayman's case. Four days after Ayman was beaten up by Egyptian police officers as he was being transferred to the Giza court for a hearing," Ismail recalled.

Prison torture Jameela Ismail, permitted to visit her husband once every two weeks, says Nour suffers daily Ismail, who is allowed to visit her husband once every two weeks, believes the beating came in defiance of the committee's visit. "The police and guards beat him in a clear sign to the committee that what NCHR does means nothing and will achieve nothing," she said. HRW has condemned Egypt's record of human rights abuses in its 2007 report on the country's human rights violations. “Egypt has for too long committed serious and systematic abuses at home while consistently undermining UN mechanisms to defend rights,” Joe Stork was quoted in the report.

Ghali's response " I have not received any official papers about a lawsuit and until then, these claims are just rumors. " Boutros Boutros Ghali, NCHR chief NCHR chief Boutros Boutros Ghali said he had no knowledge of any lawsuit filed against him. "I have not received any official papers about a lawsuit and until then, these claims are just rumors," he told AlArabiya.net. He claimed that NCHR has sufficiently addressed Nour's complaints, adding that the Egyptian Judiciary has the final say on Nour's plight.

No more letters home for Ayman Nour

ed: Is Mubarak still scared of this guy, even when he's under lock and key?

LAT Home

No more letters home for Ayman Nour. An Egyptian court has ruled that the jailed political dissident and leader of the Tomorrow Party can no longer write to his wife. The reason: Nour has angered officials by mailing home essays critical of the government that ended up in the nation’s independent newspapers.

"This decision shows a determination to deny him every right as a prisoner," Nour's wife, Gamila Ismail, told AFP.

The ruling is the latest attempt to silence Nour, a lawyer who ran against President Hosni Mubarak in 2005 and was later sentenced to five years in prison for forging political documents. His cause was quickly taken up by human rights organizations that frequently criticize Egypt for political repression, torture and the jailing of activists, especially members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Campaign like Egypt

WOMEN'S LENS - Un coup d'oeil féminin

In the U.S., we are about 16 months away from our presidential elections, but they have already started campaigning...oh what fatigue it's going to be until it's over.

Unless we just do it Egypt's way. Practical, swift, costs little money but for the incarceration of the opposition. In 2005, when Ayman Nour dared to run against Mubarak for the presidency, he was jailed. Ok, it wasn't that simple, but they came up with some story about his having forged signatures on documents for his Al-Ghad Party. An absolutely great stunt! NO TV debates, no embarrassing UTube/CNN moments, not having to spend millions of dollars showing your face here and there. Conserving energy..Al Gore would be proud.



Mr. Nour apparently has a heart condition; geez people will just say anything these days to get out of jail, won't they?? His lawyer has made attempts to get him released (oh, add diabetes to that list of ailments, and possible police brutality), but to no avail.

Word has reached Washington who is positively ATWITTER about the situation, and is urging Nour's release. Why all this publicity, when Condy is going to Egypt bearing presents? She will be in Cairo to see the democratic process at work. How much criticism can Mubarak take?

The US just announced its Santa Claus tour of its Middle East allies the only way it knows how. But the purse strings have already been curtailed once against Egypt due to its unorthodox methods of quieting bloggers. What will they do now to help Nour? Did I mention that he had heart surgery while in jail?

Al Ahram weekly : Case continues

The fate of imprisoned opposition leader Ayman Nour is still unsettled, reports Mona El-Nahhas

The Administrative Court announced on Tuesday that any decision on whether Al-Ghad Party leader Ayman Nour will be released must wait until 26 June, when official medical reports into the opposition leader's state of health -- asked for on 22 May -- are due to be issued. Meanwhile, the court ruled that Nour's defence counsel -- who had complained of procrastination in preparing the official report -- could present evidence from independent medical specialists regarding their client's health.

The court ruling means that if the official report, prepared by the Forensic Medicine Department, is not presented within two weeks then the court will rely on independent assessments of Nour's health in delivering its ruling, raising hopes among supporters of the 43-year-old Nour that his 18 months behind bars might soon come to an end.

The judge presiding over the appeal for Nour's release stressed the court would not swayed by national or international calls for Nour's release, and the decision would be based entirely on the state of Nour's health. The former presidential election candidate suffers from diabetes, heart problems and hypertension and last year underwent heart surgery while in prison.

Nour's lawyer, Amir Salem, said the court's decision was a "historical ruling", adding it represented "a severe blow to administrative bodies used to ignoring court requests".

Nour's wife Gamila Ismail told reporters she had never expected the medical report to be made available to the court panel, which was why she was treating the court ruling as a victory.

But while Salem sounded upbeat, saying any ruling in Nour's favour must be implemented immediately, Ismail sounded a more cautious note, saying she feared US pressure for her husband's release could make the regime more stubborn about the case.

Legal sources say there is a possibility the Interior Ministry will ignore any ruling in Nour's favour, using the struggle between several legal bodies, including Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud's office, over who has the right to judge the case. While some observers worry about the negative consequences of US pressure for Nour's release, others point to the case of academic and pro-democracy activist Saadeddin Ibrahim. Sentenced by a state security court in 2001 to seven years in prison for receiving foreign funds without government permission, Ibrahim was released in 2003 following enormous US pressure.

Ahead of Tuesday's hearing session international calls for Nour's release increased.

During a short visit to Egypt this week a delegation from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe talked with Egyptian officials about Nour's health.

"We are following Nour's case, and we are waiting for the court verdict, expected to be passed on Tuesday," said Sarah Ludford, a member of the European parliament.

During a conference on democracy held in the Czech Republic last week US President George W Bush called directly for Nour's release. "I look forward to the day when conferences like this one include... Ayman Nour of Egypt," Bush said.

The point was subsequently underlined by the US State Department.

"We believe that Nour should be released. We hope this could be achieved. We'll leave it to the Egyptian government to define the way by which it expresses its reactions," said Tom Cass, deputy spokesman of the US State Department.

"What Bush said concerning Egypt is an unacceptable intervention in our internal affairs," insisted Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit following Bush's speech.

The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) also weighed in with its disapproval. "Bush's statements concerning Nour's case place Egypt under no obligation," said NCHR Secretary-General Mokhles Qotb. "The law defines the legal channels that are pursued in this and similar cases."

Following a meeting of the Al-Ghad Party's higher committee a statement was released on Friday condemning Bush's statements and any external intervention in the case.