CAIRO: Ayman Nour, the jailed founder of the opposition Al-Ghad Party, filed a lawsuit against Boutros Boutros-Ghali for failing to perform his role as chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) and demanded LE 1 million in compensation from the council for not responding to any of his pleas. Nour had sent numerous complaints to the council for the "abusive treatment he is being dealt in prison but all to no avail, according to Gamila Ismail, Nour's wife. "They only visited him once back in 2005 and other than that there has been no action on their part, she told Daily News Egypt. In 2005 the NCHR had set up a committee which included its Deputy Chairman Ahmed Kamal Aboul-Magd, Mohamed Fayek, and Counselor Adel Koura, which met with Nour, the public prosecutor, the minister of interior affairs and the minister of justice to investigate the case. In their annual 2005-2006 reports, they published their conclusions on the case. "The NCHR has confidence in the integrity of the Egyptian judicial system and its impartiality. It thereby expresses its confidence that the charges filed against Dr Ayman Nour are now in the hands of rightful justice, the report read. "In light of Dr Ayman Nour's point about the circumstances regarding his arrest and the unnecessary rough treatment he received in the process, the NCHR reiterates the importance of all state authorities in maintaining the dignity and the due humane treatment of every citizen. Furthermore, non-compliance with such treatment has instigated rumors about Dr Nour's arrest being politically motivated, it said. Nour is also accusing Boutros-Ghali of overstepping his authority as the NCHR's chairman by conducting a meeting with the Israeli ambassador, which has been heavily criticized in the media. Nour, who was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly forging powers of attorney to establish Al-Ghad party, has been continuously complaining of the ill treatment he is receiving at Tora Prison and the resulting health setbacks. "Ayman is often subjected to solitary confinement [for allegedly starting fights] where he is locked in a cell which is approximately 180cm x 150cm and stripped of his clothes, his wife said. "This is done so it would go down in his record and so he wouldn't be released on good behavior on July 21 when he will have completed three quarters of his sentence, she explained. Last month, Nour filed a complaint against authorities at Tora Prison, accusing them of not implementing the Administrative Court's ruling allowing him to pray in the prison mosque.
