CAIRO: The family of jailed opposition leader Ayman Nour on Thursday called for his release on the one-year anniversary of the country s first multi-candidate presidential elections. In a statement, Nour s family urged President Hosni Mubarak to use the exclusive authority vested in him by the constitution in suspending the penalty. It appealed to Mubarak to also consider the year Nour spent in prison as sufficient due to the extremely hard conditions and unjust and harsh treatment he was subjected to while serving the sentence. Continuing to enforce the five-year sentence would represent a death sentence to Nour, who suffers from medical complications including diabetes and high blood pressure, the family said. Nour, who came second in the country s first ever presidential elections on Sept. 7 last year, was jailed in December for having allegedly forged affidavits required for the creation of his El-Ghad party. Considered Mubarak s most serious challenger in the presidential poll, Nour has always rejected the charges as trumped up by the regime to undermine his political career. In May, Egypt s high court rejected Nur s appeal. AFP
Family urges release of opposition leader Ayman Nour
