AYMAN NOUR DELAYS HEART SURGERY; GOE REFUSES

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 004856 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR MIKE SINGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM EG SUBJECT: AYMAN NOUR DELAYS HEART SURGERY; GOE REFUSES EMBASSY REQUEST TO VISIT NOUR Classified by DCM Stuart Jones, for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Imprisoned Ghad Party leader Ayman Nour has returned to Torah Prison from Al Manial Hospital, and has not yet undergone needed heart surgery, as he was not satisfied with the surgical preparations. It is not clear when he will have the surgery. During an August 7 meeting at the Public Prosecutors office, poloff was informed of the GOE's denial of the Embassy's request to visit Nour in prison. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) Gameela Ismail, wife of imprisoned Ghad Party leader Ayman Nour, informed poloff on August 7 that Nour had returned to Torah Prison from Al Manial Hospital, at his request, without undergoing surgery to place stents in his heart. On August 5 Ismail called poloff to complain about the preparations for Nour's heart surgery. She expressed concern about the operation, as Nour is diabetic, and "therefore, he requires 2-3 days of medical tests and preparatory procedures prior to the actual surgery." Ismail asserted that the hospital doctors "want to do all the procedures and the operation in one day." She said that due to the apparent lack of proper preliminary procedures, Nour did not want to undergo surgery on August 5, and had requested a delay (which was subsequently granted). Post will endeavor to remain in close contact with Gameela Ismail over the coming days. ¶3. (C) In an August 7 meeting, Counselor Adel al Saeed (director of the Technical Department at the Public Prosecutors Office) highlighted to poloff that Nour,s personal doctor submitted a report to the Egyptian Prison Administration stating that he needed stents placed in his heart. The Tora Prison director-general thus referred Nour to Al Manial Hospital, but "then Nour requested that he go back to prison". Saeed said the prison director-general had subsequently offered to move Nour to Nasser Hospital, but Nour "wanted to remain in prison." Saeed also asserted that Nour had asked that the heart surgery be done at his own expense, but "now it seems the family does not have the money for that." (Note: In our conversations with Ismail, she has not mentioned this issue. End Note). ¶4. (C) In response to poloff's query regarding the Embassy's July 24 diplomatic note requesting permission to visit Nour at Tora Prison, Saeed, citing Prison Law 396 (issued in 1956) and Internal Prison Regulation 79 (issued in 1961) said that such a visit will be "impossible," as it is "against the law" for foreigners to visit Egyptians in prison. According to Saeed, Law 396 and Regulation 79 stipulate that only relatives of the prisoner and his lawyers can visit imprisoned Egyptians. (Note: Over the past several months, Embassy has repeatedly requested permission for poloffs, visiting Congressmen, and a delegation of diplomats from Western embassies in Cairo, to visit Nour. We have not received a reply to any of these requests. Saeed's comments were the first time we have been officially told that a request to visit Nour has been denied.) RICCIARDONE