'This is more than I can take'
2005-09-26 16:58
Cairo - The runner-up in Egypt's presidential election, Ayman Nur, asked for the judges in his trial to be replaced on Monday, complaining they were conducting the proceedings in a way that humiliated him.
"Prison was better than this trial," Nur told the panel of three judges in the Cairo court where he is standing trial with five other defendants on charges of forging signatures to register his al-Ghad party last year. Early this year he was detained for six weeks.
Nur complained of the court's questioning whether he was the son of his father and the presence of state security officials who take notes of the trial. "Why are they taking notes?" he asked.
"It's very humiliating," Nur said of the trial. "This is more than I can take."
Nur says he's innocent
A lawyer himself, Nour added: "I have never before requested the removal of a panel of judges.
But defence lawyers for two other accused told the judges they wanted them to remain.
The judges adjourned the proceedings.
Nur has pleaded innocent and says the government is trying to frame him. If found guilty, Nur would be prevented from running in the parliamentary elections scheduled for November.
Most of his co-defendants have claimed Nour ordered them to commit the forgery, but he says he doesn't even know them. One of the prosecution's witnesses, Ayman Hassan, has recanted his statement, saying the security forces threatened his family to force him to testify against Nour.
In the September 7 elections, President Hosni Mubarak was re-elected with 88% of the vote, but Nur surprised observers by finishing second, albeit with only 7%. The turnout was 23%.
Shortly after the elections, several al-Ghad legislators challenged Nur's leadership, but a general meeting of the party confirmed Nur as head.
- AP