CAIRO: Jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour filed a petition Wednesday accusing prison authorities of banning him from writing articles for his party newspaper, his wife said Gamila Ismail added that Nour, leader of the El-Ghad (Tomorrow) party and the runner-up in presidential election last year, also complained about conditions of his detention during a brief appearance at a Cairo court. Nour was jailed in December for five years for allegedly forging documents in order to form his party. According to El-Ghad, the authorities banned Nour from writing for the party s mouthpiece and confiscated articles he was preparing to send to the paper because they were critical of senior officials in the ruling National Democratic Party. The action was a violation of the law by the prison department, which overstepped its authority and turned itself into a political institution defending symbols of the [government] and its ruling party, El-Ghad charged in a statement received by AFP. Nour is currently at a prison hospital being treated for multiple ailments, including heart problems and diabetes. But he strongly denied he had attempted suicide, as claimed by prison officials. I did not and I will not attempt to commit suicide, Ismail quoted Nour as saying. The 41-year-old lawyer lost his parliamentary seat during elections in November and December, and his party lost its representation in parliament. AFP
Nour files petition against writing ban Egypt's
