Detained Al-Ghad Party chairman may be released very soon, reports Mona El-Nahhas Press reports indicated that Prosecutor-General Maher Abdel- Wahed may soon release his final decree regarding the case against Ayman Nour, chairman of the opposition Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party. Nour was arrested last month on charges of forging thousands of the new party's membership applications, and remains detained for 45 days pending investigations. On Tuesday, Al-Ahram Editor-in-Chief Ibrahim Nafie suggested that, "the prosecutor-general is in the process of finishing his interrogations with Nour, which makes us expect a decree releasing him soon." However, it is not yet clear if Nour will be freed on bail and referred to the criminal court, or cleared of the charges against him. According to legal experts, Nour would not be allowed to run in either presidential or parliamentary elections while the case is still being investigated, or in court. Nour, meanwhile, made a statement from jail, describing President Hosni Mubarak's initiative to amend Article 76 of the Constitution as "a very important and courageous move towards comprehensive political and constitutional reform, an Al-Ghad Party demand." In reaction to Mubarak's surprise announcement, the popular MP decided to end the hunger strike that he started on 24 February to protest against his detention. Nour began the hunger strike two days after prison officials refused to transfer him to a nearby hospital after he fell ill following six hours of interrogations by state security prosecutors. A diabetic with heart problems, Nour was taken to the prison hospital instead. "Nour's life is in danger," warned the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights in a 22 February statement calling for an international campaign to demand his immediate release. "The investigations could have taken place outside prison, and in accordance with the Egyptian Constitution," the statement said. Meanwhile, the Alliance for Democracy and Reform, composed of three human rights organisations, also called upon Prosecutor-General Abdel-Wahed to release Nour immediately, due to his deteriorating health. The Al-Ghad Party said it would only issue a detailed statement about the positive implications of the president's proposed constitutional amendment following Nour's release. On Tuesday, party members demonstrated outside the prosecutor- general's office, calling for his release. Three weeks prior to his arrest, the party had submitted a draft constitution -- meant to replace the one currently in use -- to the People's Assembly. The draft called for replacing the presidential referendum system with fully democratic presidential elections within a parliamentary republic, thereby curtailing the president's unlimited powers. Many have argued it was precisely that draft constitution that landed the young party leader in jail. The recent announcement by Mubarak sparked similar speculation. "After the US administration criticised the government for detaining Nour and said his detention threatens democracy in Egypt, Mubarak had no choice but to take that step," said a party member who spoke on condition of anonymity. Some party sources predicted that Mubarak's initiative would result in a drop in US pressure for Nour's release. Last week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cancelled plans to visit Egypt; that diplomatic snub reportedly had something to do with Nour. During a press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit in Washington two weeks ago, Rice said the US was deeply concerned about Nour's detention, and that it hoped for a quick solution to the case, which she described as being important to the US public, Congress and administration. While Rice's support for Nour was seen by many as evidence of a direct connection between the party and the US, Nour denied those claims from his prison cell. "The party has never received money from any foreign body, and will not be dragged into such trivial battles," Nour wrote in a letter to his wife, TV broadcaster Gamila Ismail. The party issued a similar statement on 21 February, making clear that the party's sources of finance are well known, mostly derived from wealthy members. Amid extensive speculation regarding Nour's intention to run for this year's presidential elections, party members predicted that his case was still far from being resolved. According to legal experts, Nour would not be allowed to run in either presidential or parliamentary elections while the case is still being investigated, or in court. An internal dispute also seems to have emerged regarding how the party will be run in Nour's absence. While a group led by the party's Deputy Chairman Moussa Mustafa Moussa is leaning towards avoiding a confrontation with the state, another group led by the party's Secretary-General Mona Makram Ebeid has decided against offering any possible concessions, continuing her overt support for Nour instead. On Monday, state security prosecution brought Ebeid in to hear her testimony about the case. It was Moussa who froze publication of the party's weekly mouthpiece Al-Ghad a few weeks ago. Party members said Moussa was forced to do so by the government in order to avoid being dragged into the legal case against Nour. They also said security bodies were against controversial journalist Ibrahim Eissa's being chosen as Al-Ghad 's editor-in-chief. Although Moussa told Ebeid -- who insisted on Eissa -- and other party officials that he would abide by the party's choice of Eissa, no further steps have since been taken towards publishing the paper. Nour, meanwhile, "is very concerned about the newspaper's future," said Ismail, "which he considers the only means of support available for him now." At an Al-Ghad Party conference held in a Giza hotel last Thursday night, party members said unidentified men dressed in white training suits and holding guns assaulted eight party members. "We were surprised to find about 20 men who looked like state security agents entering the hall," said the party's assistant chairman, Wael Nawwara. "They interrupted the speaker and insulted the assembled members. When I asked them to sit down, they started to beat me and tried to strangle me with my neck tie." Nawwara said the men seized his mobile phone and broke his spectacles. The assailants did not stay long, he said, but did say as they left: "We hope you got the message."
