CAIRO: Presidential hopeful Hamdeen Sabbahi expressed his full solidarity last night with Ayman Nour, another presidential hopeful and head of the liberal al-Ghad Party. A court ruling yesterday rejected Nour's appeal of the 2006 verdict that put him in prison for five years on forgery charges – which he maintains were trumped up – and keeps him from running for public office until 2016. Sabbahi, head of al-Karama Party, called Nour to express his solidarity. Sabbahi said that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, charged with Egypt's administration since February's ouster of the former government, can use its constitutional powers to pardon Ayman Nour or ease his penalty, according to Article 56 of the 2011 Constitutional Declaration. “It is not logical to exclude Ayman Nour from political life while former regime remnants and corruptors are allowed to participate,” said Sabbahi.
