Ayman Nour Biography (first trial)

Ayman Nour was born in 5 December 1964 to a father who was a parliament member & a mother who established number of charities in their country of origin, Mansoura city

In the age of 22 he was married to Gameela Ismail a well known TV presenter & they have two sons Nour & Shady

Ayman Nour as an activist:

Started his political activity as a student activist in school & university, was elected as president for Egypt’s high school students union in 1980

Won several awards in photography, school journalism & many other activities

1980 the Minister of Education announcing Ayman Nour the Chief of the student's union

As a journalist:

Graduated in law school and started his career in 1984 as a journalist in one of the most famous opposition newspaper called “El Wafd” – “El Wafd” is the oldest liberal party in Egypt & was the ruling party before 1952 ,,

With Fouad Serag el Dein Leader of El Wafd party

His main concerns as a journalist were torture & large corruption cases - This led him to be arrested & beaten several times during his press campaigns specially against the interior minister Zaki Badr, He even wrote a book about him called (The Black Soldier: Zaki Badr)

on of his reports about torture in Egyptian prisons 1988

He met a number of world leaders like Yasser Arafat & many others & wrote number of books, one of them he named in 1992 (Liberalism is the solution) comparing with the famous Islamists' slogan (Islam is the solution)

He received his Ph.D. from Russia in 1995 in (History of Law) & then he ran as a parliament candidate and won the elections for “El Wafd” liberal party in an electoral district in middle of Cairo called (Bab el Sha’rea)

As a parliament member ( 1995 – 2005 )

He got the record of the youngest member in the history of the Egyptian parliament because he was elected only few days after he reached the legal age for nomination

he was one of the most active & famous members in the parliament exposing lots of corruption cases, proposing large number of laws, amending & monitoring many international treaties including Egypt ,

1995

He stood against extraordinary laws, supported civil rights , visited many parliaments around the world & he won many awards for his honorable performance in the parliament nationally & internationally ,,

In 2003 he asked for a war crime trial for George W. Bush & Tony Blair for the invasion of Iraq without the UN permission

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYKFl7ejoGs

He was re-elected as a member in the parliament in 2000 & ran internally for the deputy speaker post winning it against the NDP nominee Amaal Othman which led to repeating the elections and then he lost & then he & many of his fellows in the parliament was dismissed from “El Wafd” party in 2001

Dismissed from "El Wafd" Ayman Nour & his fellows begun establishing their own political liberal movement and called it “El Ghad=tomorrow” in 2002

In 2002 he wrote a book that contained political & economical platform for most of Egypt’s problems called (Modern Egypt in 2020) & this book was the main base for “El Ghad party” platform later

In 2003 he launched with his fellows a large political campaign to attract Egyptian youth & society elite to the politics field under the flag of the old Egyptian liberal values of “El Ghad movement“ such as “tolerance” , “human rights”, “third way free market”, respecting Egyptian & Islamic traditions

In 2004 after putting a lot of pressure on the government ( including thousands of founders to the party, demonstrations & well written platform handled to the court ) the Egyptian government finally gave the legal license to “El Ghad” party ( announcing at the same time in the governmental media that it was a deal between Ayman & them )

El Ghad party under the leadership of Ayman Nour demanded for a lot of political & Constitutional reforms including presidential elections instead of the old fashion presidential referendum

3 months later Ayman Nour was accused of falsifying official documents related to “El Ghad” party release & inside the parliament lifted his parliamentary immunity in 30 minutes & he was dragged to prison from the gate of the parliament


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyLJfwDUzOI


Days later president Mubarak announced constitutional reforms that allows other candidates to run for presidency in 2005 against him & Ayman Nour submitted his nomination papers from inside the prison & then government released him

In 28 days elections period he visited all districts of Egypt holding elections conferences in each one of them under the slogan (Hope of Change) & was subjected to a heavy smear campaign by the governmental media & newspapers accusing him of being an American agent

During 2005 elections

In the end of the elections he came in the second place obtaining – officially - 540000 votes against 6 000 000 votes for Mubarak who was and still in power since 1981

The Elections story in English:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXfpn5-BZEw


After the presidential elections he was put once again in jail in a trial that was described by many observers as unfair trial under the control of a famous judge – the same judge that sent Dr.Saad el Din Ibrahim to jail few years before – Ayman Nour was sent to jail for 5 years in prison for “knowing about the falsified papers”

in 2005

Months later one of the sentenced partners in this case was found hanged in his cell in prison ( officially announced to commit suicide ) a day after he declared that he was threatened by the state security to confess on Ayman Nour

In prison he was prevented all his rights including the right to write, to meet his wife, to meet with other prisoners, even the right of health care which caused him a lot of health problems later on

Health care prevention effects

In February 2009 – only 4 months before the legal deadline to be set free the government sent him free (announcing once again that it’s another deal between him & them)

After being free in 2009 he launched a new campaign called “Knocking the doors campaign” to complete the visits he started in 2005 to Egyptian towns & cities,, & even to millions of Egyptians living outside Egypt in Europe , US & in the Golf region

Knocking the doors campaign

Out of prison now, Ayman Nour is prevented from most of his rights including his right to work, to deal with bank accounts, to sell his properties and days ago the Egyptian government banned him from traveling outside Egypt

And the story goes on