EGYPT: AT SECOND DAY OF AYMAN NOUR TRIAL,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 004981 SIPDIS NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2015 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM EG SUBJECT: EGYPT: AT SECOND DAY OF AYMAN NOUR TRIAL, PROSECUTION WITNESS RECANTS REF: CAIRO 4917 Classified by ECPO Counselor John Desrocher for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In a second chaotic session of the Ayman Nour trial, a codefendant and witness for the prosecution recanted his guilty plea and claimed he had been pressured by the government to testify against Nour. The development emboldened Nour and his supporters but surprised the judges, who promptly adjourned the proceedings and set a new session for July 6. Nour has been using the trial and attendant publicity as a venue to present himself as an alternative to Mubarak and embarrass the GOE in the process. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) The second session of the trial of opposition party leader Ayman Nour, the embattled presidential candidate charged with forgery, was held on June 30. Like opening day on June 28 (reftel),the courthouse was flooded with hundreds of chanting Ghad Party supporters with hundreds of riot police containing but mainly tolerating them. The atmosphere in and out of the courtroom was tense and chaotic, but somewhat calmer than on opening day. Poloff and a European diplomat were among at least 100 observers crammed into the court room. ¶3. (SBU) After the usual lengthy delays, and several screaming matches involving Nour's lawyers, lawyers for the other defendants, police, and court officers, the session eventually got underway in the late morning. About one hour into the session, Ayman Ismail Hassan, "defendant number three," recanted the guilty plea he had entered at the June 28 opening of the trial. From the defendants' cage, Hassan told the bench he had been pressured by prosecutors to cooperate by pleading guilty and testifying against Nour. Hassan said that he was promised that his criminal record would be expunged if he cooperated and threatened that, if he did not, two of his nieces would be arrested and charged as codefendants. ¶4. (SBU) Hassan's surprise testimony stunned the courtroom, including, apparently, the three-judge panel, which abruptly withdrew to chambers. Nour's supporters erupted into cheers, chanting "Allahu Akbar!" (God is great). Gamila Ismail, Nour's wife and fellow Ghad Party activist, was also ecstatic. "They can't possibly keep the case going!" she exclaimed to poloff and several journalists. ¶5. (SBU) After a long recess, the judges returned and adjourned the case until July 6. Nour, who had placed a sticker for "Kifaya" ("Enough"- the rallying cry of the eclectic Egyptian Movement for Change) on the wall behind him in the defendants' cage, remained locked up, first speaking to journalists and eventually banging on the cage and demanding to be released. After about half an hour, Nour made his way out of the courthouse amid an intense shoving match between riot police and the Ghad Party supporters who had swarmed the courthouse. ¶6. (SBU) In front of the court, Nour climbed on top of a vehicle, posed for the press, and exclaimed "if any supporters are hurt today, the government and the security establishment will pay a high price!" Nour's statement referred to the death of June 28 of Ghad Party activist Khalil al-Utaybi during the chaotic demonstrations that characterized the trial's opening day. The Ghad Party's official newspaper described Utaybi as a "martyr who died at the hands of security" during the June 28 demonstrations, while other media reports said that Utaybi had suffered a heart attack. ¶7. (C) Comment: Ayman Nour and his supporters contend the case against him was politically motivated from the outset, with the aim not of serving justice but of eliminating a provocative political opponent. Nour's strategy is to use the trial, and the defendants' cage, as a bully pulpit from which to embarass the regime and present himself as Egypt's principal alternative to Mubarak. Indeed, the defense called as witnesses the Ministers of Interior and Justice, as well as the Speaker of the Parliament, on its opening day. Also on opening day, Nour told the court he welcomed the opportunity to disclose his finances and urged the President and his family to do the same. ¶8. (C) Comment continued: Nour's presentation of himself as Egypt's principal opposition leader is viewed by many as presumptuous, and many, including those critical of the GOE's case against him, also harbor doubts about Nour's integrity and political viability. While Nour, his supporters, and others see the trial as a symbol of government oppression and resistance to democracy, the presence of loud, boisterous, and sometimes aggressive anti-regime protestors at the site is also a sign of the times. As recently as two years ago, open criticism of Mubarak was considered a red line crossed at one's peril. Today street protests featuring pointed anti-regime rhetoric have become almost routine on Cairo's streets. End comment. Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. CORBIN