Judge orders detention of Egyptian politician Ayman Nour
A court ordered the detention of the runner-up in Egypt’s presidential elections, Ayman Nour, and his five fellow defendants as their trial on forgery charges approached its end today.
Judge Abdel Salam Gomaa gave no reason for ruling that Nour and his co-accused should be held in prison, but Egyptian judges often make such orders when a guilty verdict is looming.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to forging signatures on the petition that Nour filed last year to secure the registration of his al-Ghad Party.
The defence team today asked the court Monday to postpone the trial for further concluding argument. The judge granted the adjournment but, to general surprise, ordered the defendants to be held in custody.
Nour finished second to President Hosni Mubarak in the presidential elections in September. But he lost his seat in the first round of the parliamentary elections last month, a result he has appealed against.
