This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7897703.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Egypt's Nour released from jail | Egypt's Nour released from jail |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Egyptian authorities have released the country's best known opposition figure, Ayman Nour, after three years in jail. | Egyptian authorities have released the country's best known opposition figure, Ayman Nour, after three years in jail. |
| Judiciary officials said Mr Nour, 44, was released on health grounds. | Judiciary officials said Mr Nour, 44, was released on health grounds. |
| Speaking by telephone from his Cairo home, Mr Nour said he would resume leadership of his Ghad (Tomorrow) party and rejoin political life. | Speaking by telephone from his Cairo home, Mr Nour said he would resume leadership of his Ghad (Tomorrow) party and rejoin political life. |
| Mr Nour came a distant second in Egypt's first contested presidential poll in 2005 but was jailed for alleged election fraud in the following months. | Mr Nour came a distant second in Egypt's first contested presidential poll in 2005 but was jailed for alleged election fraud in the following months. |
| The US, Egypt's close ally and major aid donor, took great interest in the Nour case and described his conviction as a miscarriage of justice. | The US, Egypt's close ally and major aid donor, took great interest in the Nour case and described his conviction as a miscarriage of justice. |
| The 44-year-old lawyer is known to suffer from diabetes and is dependent on insulin injections. | The 44-year-old lawyer is known to suffer from diabetes and is dependent on insulin injections. |
| Speaking to reporters by telephone from his home, Mr Nour thanked God that he had been released. | Speaking to reporters by telephone from his home, Mr Nour thanked God that he had been released. |
| "I am going to practise my role as a politician through the Ghad party and through my previous role," he added. | "I am going to practise my role as a politician through the Ghad party and through my previous role," he added. |
| While in jail, Mr Nour believed the regime wanted him to die behind bars, he told the AFP news agency during an interview last year. | |
| He described himself as having gone from a victim of "political assassination" to being subjected to "physical destruction". | |
| Election allegations | Election allegations |
| Mr Nour formed his political party in 2004 with a view to contesting the presidential election the following year, run as a multi-candidate affair for the first time after US put pressure on Egypt to introduce democratic reforms. | Mr Nour formed his political party in 2004 with a view to contesting the presidential election the following year, run as a multi-candidate affair for the first time after US put pressure on Egypt to introduce democratic reforms. |
| He came a distant second in the poll, which he claimed was rigged, winning 8% of the vote against the 89% polled by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. | He came a distant second in the poll, which he claimed was rigged, winning 8% of the vote against the 89% polled by the incumbent Hosni Mubarak. |
| Three months after elections, Mr Nour was charged with forging signatures to register his party and jailed for five years. | Three months after elections, Mr Nour was charged with forging signatures to register his party and jailed for five years. |
| Analysts at the time said the speed with which Ayman Nour was stripped of parliamentary immunity and brought to trial suggested the government did underestimate the political threat he posed. | Analysts at the time said the speed with which Ayman Nour was stripped of parliamentary immunity and brought to trial suggested the government did underestimate the political threat he posed. |
| The government of Mr Mubarak, who has ruled without interruption since 1981, and the judiciary have dismissed allegations that the trial was politically motivated. | The government of Mr Mubarak, who has ruled without interruption since 1981, and the judiciary have dismissed allegations that the trial was politically motivated. |
| Washington had repeatedly called for his release, although correspondents say US criticism of the case has died off in recent months, having been a cause of heightened tension in the past. | Washington had repeatedly called for his release, although correspondents say US criticism of the case has died off in recent months, having been a cause of heightened tension in the past. |