Egypt's Nur back in the dock
2005-09-25 12:44
Cairo - Embattled Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nur was back in the dock on Sunday on trial for forgery, two weeks after clinching the runner-up spot in the country's first contested presidential election.
The 40-year-old lawyer arrived at the courthouse in Cairo's Bab al-Khalk neighbourhood surrounded by a crowd of around 100 supporters and a more discreet security set-up than for previous hearings.
More witnesses were expected to be heard on Sunday in the trial, where Nur stands accused of having forged affidavits for the creation of his Ghad (Tomorrow) party last year.
Nur was remanded in custody for six weeks earlier this year over the accusations, a detention that drew international criticism and propelled him into the spotlight.
Nur, who is defended by a large team of prominent lawyers, has always denied the charges, arguing they had been trumped up to undermine his rise on the political scene.
Veteran President Hosni Mubarak swept 88% of the vote in the September 7 election but Nur was a clear second with seven percent and led an aggressive campaign that further boosted his profile.
After a more than two-month break in the trial, Nur returned to the dock as a raft of other complications were impeding his march towards to the legislative elections kicking off on November 8.
He also faces a leadership challenge inside his own party after several leading officials he described as government infiltrators rebelled.
His party already lacks the nationwide grassroots support and infrastructure to make a very strong showing in the parliamentary polls, which could confirm the officially banned Muslim Brotherhood as the country's largest opposition force.
Nur is also threatened by another potentially more damaging court case.
Prosecutors on Thursday questioned the MP to determine whether he was involved in a case in which a lawyer working in his office allegedly bribed an innocent man to go to jail instead of another man, Walid al-Gilda.