Egypt Opposition Leader Nour Freed on Bail

Reuters ^ | March 13, 2005 | Edmund Blair

[billorites]

Mar. 12, 2005 - Egypt on Saturday released on bail Ayman Nour, an opposition leader detained since the end of January and whose jailing aroused Washington's concern.

Scores of people, waving orange Ghad (Tomorrow) party flags, cheered Nour as he left a Cairo detention center after supporters paid his bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,724).

Nour, leader of the opposition Ghad party, was held for about six weeks during investigations into allegations that his party forged documents when it applied for recognition last year. The party says the allegations are fabrications.

"He came out much stronger than he went in -- himself, the party and most of all the spirit of freedom in Egypt," party member Mazen Mostafa told Reuters.

Nour, wearing white prison overalls, addressed a crowd at a cultural center he set up, thanking them for supporting him in detention, as riot police waited nearby in case of trouble.

Public prosecutor Maher Abdel-Wahed had earlier ordered Nour and five others to be freed on payment of bail of 10,000 pounds each, but said the investigation was continuing.

The United States has said it has "very strong concerns" about the Nour case.

RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

Nour, who has said he intends to run for president under plans to allow multi-candidate elections in Egypt, has said he does not want any foreign intervention on his behalf.

Party officials said Nour had personally refused to pay bail, but supporters collected the funds to pay it anyway.

Nour was transferred on Saturday from prison to the Cairo detention center where he was released, they said.

A judicial source said Nour, who is a member of parliament, could continue his political activities, provided there was no final court ruling against him.

"His parliamentary immunity was lifted for the investigation, but it does not affect his membership of parliament," the source said.

A close associate of Nour, Ayman Barakat, left jail on Friday after more than five weeks of detention for questioning in connection with the allegations against Nour.

Nour has been a vocal advocate of constitutional change and welcomed President Hosni Mubarak's proposal last month to change the constitution to allow multi-candidate elections to replace the existing single-candidate referendum.

He announced his intention to run for the presidency in the first edition of the party's newspaper that came out this week.

The proposal to amend the constitution is working its way through parliament.

Other opposition parties have also welcomed Mubarak's proposals, but some have also voiced concerns that parliament, which is dominated by Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party, will put so many conditions on who can run that it will render any presidential race meaningless.

[marron]

He owes Bush a thank-you.

[billorites]

Best thing for both Nour and Bush would be to keep a more than respectful distance from each other.