Mr. Ayman Nour, a former member of the Egyptian People’s Assembly who had attracted international attention as a candidate in the presidential elections of September 2005, was released from prison on 18 February this year. He was serving a five year sentence handed down by the court on 24 December 2005 after it found him guilty of forgery and counterfeiting of signatures for the purpose of the registration of his political party, Al Ghad.
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The case of Ayman Nour was submitted to the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. In the course of its proceedings, the Committee raised a number of concerns with the Egyptian authorities relating to the legal proceedings and the health of Mr. Nour. He is a diabetic and suffers from various other ailments. In view of its concerns regarding Mr. Nour’s conditions of detention and more particularly the reported worsening of his state of health, the Committee requested an on-site mission. The request was however denied by the Attorney General who affirmed that under Egyptian Law, foreigners were not allowed to visit prisoners. The fact that there are precedents of foreigners visiting Egyptian prisoners did not change this state of affairs.
In October 2008, the Governing Council called on the President of Egypt to pardon Mr. Nour. There is no doubt that the Council will greatly welcome Mr. Nour’s release on health grounds.
