AYMAN NOUR STILL WANTS HEART SURGERY; REQUESTS USG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000099 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM EG SUBJECT: AYMAN NOUR STILL WANTS HEART SURGERY; REQUESTS USG PUSH FOR HIS AMNESTY REF: 06 CAIRO 7120 Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission William R. Stewart, for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Gameela Ismail (wife of imprisoned Al Ghad Party leader Ayman Nour) asserted to poloff that Nour is still in need of cardiac stent replacement surgery, but that State Security officials have deemed he does not require an operation. Ismail gave poloff a letter to the Secretary from Nour, in which he requests that the Secretary continue to advocate that he be granted amnesty. End summary. ¶2. (C) In a January 11 meeting with poloff, Ismail asserted that Nour is still in need of cardiac stent replacement surgery, despite reports in the press that he had undergone a heart operation. Ismail said that on December 19 Nour underwent a cardiac catheterization (a diagnostic procedure to determine pressure and blood flow in the heart's chambers and arteries, but not the needed stent replacement). Ismail alleged that State Security officials have since told Nour that the catheterization shows he does not require stent replacement surgery; Nour disagrees with this assessment, as he last had such arterial expansion in 2003, and feels a replacement is now necessary. ¶3. (C) Ismail stated that a large dose of Plavix (an anti-blood clot medication) had been given to Nour prior to the catheterization. She alleged that the normal dosage is one-two tablets; Nour was told to take four simultaneously. As a result, Ismail claimed that Nour's eyes swelled shut, and started bleeding. While the swelling has subsided, Nour's vision remains "blurry." Ismail said that Nour thinks that the government wants his health to deteriorate, is "very depressed" about his personal situation as well as that of the Al Ghad Party ("it is being eviscerated") and feels that he will likely die in prison. Ismail asserted that her visits to Nour have been restricted to three times a month, while previously she was allowed to visit six times per month. Prison officials also reportedly do not allow Nour's family to bring him food (as other inmates' families are allowed to do),so he has to eat the "putrid, often rotting" fare prepared at the prison. ¶4. (C) Ismail said that Parliamentary Speaker Fathi Surour had called her to his office on January 10, to discuss his 
concern that Egypt's membership in the International Parliament (NFI) will be canceled due to the "inhumane" treatment of Nour. Ismail claimed Surour told her that the International Parliament recently reopened Nour's case, and has requested Surour file a report on Nour's health. Surour also told Ismail that a delegation from the International Parliament will visit Cairo soon to try to see Nour, and "assess the situation." Surour reportedly urged Ismail to "stop complaining so loudly." ¶5. (SBU) Ismail gave poloff a letter from Nour to the Secretary, in which he requests that the Secretary continue SIPDIS to advocate for his being granted amnesty, under constitutional Article 149. Text of informal Embassy translation follows: Warmest greetings for the New Year and happy holidays, and I wish you and your great nation more progress, development and excellence. I hope when my message reaches you, you are in the best of health. Fifteen months ago, I was a candidate in the first-ever presidential elections in the history of Egypt, among ten competing candidates from the heads of Egyptian political parties. Fate, along with my fellow compatriots, decided that I come in second to the winning candidate, President Mubarak. In spite of the meager number of votes the competing candidates got (except, naturally, for the winning one), these results ) which did not mind giving me the title 'second runner up'- sent me to prison a few days after being announced. This was a very nave and obvious instance of framing, as the security authorities claimed that some of the signatures on the founding petition by the founders of Al Ghad Party (which I established in 2004) were forged, though by law, no more than fifty signatures are required from fifty Egyptian citizens, which is not difficult to imagine obtaining (especially since I was an MP representing a constituency in the middle of Cairo, inhabited by millions, and I was its parliamentary representative for ten years, winning sweeping victories from its voters without competition in the face of the state's candidates). And the votes of my supporters in the presidential elections, which the official results attest to, also cancel out that silly accusation which suddenly became a penalty through a judicial CAIRO 00000099 002 OF 002 ruling after a farcical trial, as the case was assigned to a specific judge with a history of such political cases, only to end with putting me in preventive detention in this case on December 5, 2005, the day I turned forty-one. And then detention turned into a cruel and choking five-year jail sentence with hard labor. And despite the denouncing of the trial and sentence on all levels locally and internationally, we still had hope of a re-trial before another court. But the Egyptian legal system does not allow for that, unless approved first by the Court of Cassation, to which an appeal was referred on May 18, 2006, to be reviewed in absentia and before the same constituency that was assigned to try the judges who announced the rigging of the elections and before the same court and on the same day. Then the appeal for a re-trial was rejected, thus rendering the sentence final -- five years of imprisonment in addition to being banned for the six years following that from running in elections or voting, as well as being banned from practicing a career as a lawyer and journalist! And there is no way out of this political and human execution except solely the President's utilization of the right given to him under Article 149 of the constitution, to issue a pardon for the penalty. Your Excellency, I am writing these lines to you, in hopes that this matter gets your generous attention, given the exalted status you have in our souls and an appreciated wisdom. Especially after this ruling turned into an illegal execution, due to the constitutional and human rights violations incurred, to which authorities race away from any reason, law, tradition, or custom; as I was banned from my right to writing, correspondence and visitation, amid a shameful silence that amounts to conspiracy as the forcible and illegal banning extended to my right to treatment and movement, which led to diseases like arthritis, diabetes, heart diseases and more; meanwhile I am being denied medical treatment, civil food and the right to litigation, or visits by attorneys in contradiction with all articles and international agreements. Excellency, common human values motivated me to write to address you in these lines, to someone that I trust has the wisdom and capability to exert sincere and calm effort that would contribute to lifting unlimited injustice in a matter that is related to the values of justice, freedom, and the legitimate right to differ and compete. The passage of one year, my extreme punishment, and restrictions in jail and on my party, and even on my family and children, is a punishment without a crime. At a time, when we thought ) and still think ) that rights and freedoms should rule, as no matter how they appear to be an internal affair, they are also a humanitarian concern that conscientious people hurt over, and is shouldered by those who have your weight and ability to resolve crisis through communication and the diplomacy of reason and wisdom, which is supported by full appreciation from all sides to your generous self. I would like to express my thanks and gratitude in advance for your time. Our hope is in God and in your kind attention. Please accept my sincerest regards and appreciation. Ayman Nour Torah Ranch Prison South Cairo January 2007 End translation. RICCIARDONE