EGYPT: COURT REJECTS AYMAN NOUR REQUEST FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 002350 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NSC STAFF FOR WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KPAO SUBJECT: EGYPT: COURT REJECTS AYMAN NOUR REQUEST FOR HEALTH-BASED PAROLE REF: A. CAIRO 2036 ¶B. CAIRO 1949 Classified by A/DCM William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Judge Mohamed El-Husseiny, of the State Council's Court of Administrative Justice, rejected Ayman Nour's health-based request to be paroled from prison, in a court session on July 31. Before the verdict was read, Nour's lawyer Amir Salem told poloff that if the verdict went against Nour, he would appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. After Judge Husseiny issued his verdict, television crews crowded around Nour's wife Gameela Ismail for her reaction, while supporters from Nour's political party, El-Ghad, gathered in the lobby outside the courtroom to chant slogans in support of Nour and against President Mubarak. Nour's legal team confirmed that they would proceed with an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. ¶2. (SBU) Approximately 300 people, including dozens of security personnel and journalists, and about 100 Nour supporters, waited for several hours on the morning of July 31 for Judge Husseiny's verdict. The judge appeared at 12:30 p.m. and after hurrying through the announcements of verdicts in approximately 20 other cases, ruled that he rejected Nour's request. In the parallel case of ailing convict Ahmed Mazloum (reftels),the judge ruled that Mazloum, who is reportedly paralyzed and suffering from severe bed sores and infections, should be released, so that he can receive needed health care. ¶3. (SBU) It is not clear when Nour's appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court will be heard. Egyptian courts are typically closed for an August recesss. The appeal is also dependent on a related September 2 jurisdictional ruling. As noted in Ref A, the GOE's State Lawsuits Authority filed suit on June 25 arguing that the State Council, which typically handles administrative lawsuits by citizens against the GOE, was not the proper venue for Nour's request for a health-based parole. The State Lawsuits Authority has argued that Nour must request a health-based release from the same court and judge, Adel Abdel-Salaam Gomaa, that sentenced him in 2005. (Note: Judge Gomaa of the New Cairo Felonies Court has gained notoriety in some circles as the judge who sentenced both Nour in 2005 and democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim in 2001-2. End note.) ¶4. (C) Comment: The legal question before Judge Husseiny was whether Nour, and convict Mazloum (in a separate but similar case),suffered from such serious health problems that their lives would be at risk if they remained in prison, and they should thus be paroled so they could obtain needed health care. While the judge agreed that Mazloum's poor health necessitated his release from prison, it appears that the judge also believed that Nour's health problems (including diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease) can be managed even if Nour remains in prison. Human rights activist Hossam Bahgat (protect),of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR),who attend today's hearing, told poloff that he believed that there is a qualitative difference between the ailments afflicting Mazloum and Nour. Bahgat, who is a staunch critic of the GOE's human rights record, said that he believes that Judge Husseiny made his ruling independently, and on the merits of the cases. According to Bahgat and other observers, Husseiny is the same judge who had ruled against the GOE's current use of military tribunals to try the Muslim Brotherhood. Husseiny, said Bahgat, is not/not a judge who is seen to be under the sway of the GOE. RICCIARDONE