Nour’s case delayed until July 3

On Tuesday, the Cairo Administrative Court postponed its hearing on the early release of Ayman Nour, former chairman of the opposition party Al-Ghad, until July 3, according to Al-Ahram Weekly.

Nour, who received 7.3 percent of the votes—second only to President Mubarak—in Egypt’s first contested presidential election in 2005, is now serving a five-year jail term on charges of forging signatures to have his party legally registered. He suffers from diabetes, heart problems and hypertension, and his lawyers have requested his release on parole given his ill-health.

During Tuesday’s session the court asked Nour’s lawyers to submit a health report and linked Nour’s case to that of Ahmed Mazloum, who is also seeking release on health grounds. The court said the two cases should be heard in tandem, and judgment will have to wait for Mazloum’s official medical report.

Nour’s case has led to an “unseemly struggle between Egypt’s various legal authorities over who has the right to preside… many legal experts believe the battle over prerogatives is being orchestrated with the aim of avoiding the implementation of any ruling should the court find in Nour’s favor,” according to the article.

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