POLICE HARASSMENT AT NOUR EVENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002031 SIPDIS NEA/ELA FOR SHAMPAIGN AND PINA NSC FOR KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PKDEM PHUM EG SUBJECT: POLICE HARASSMENT AT NOUR EVENT REF: A. CAIRO 1857 ¶B. 2005 CAIRO 4264 ¶C. 2005 CAIRO 8034 ¶D. 2005 CAIRO 7450 ¶E. 2005 CAIRO 2285 ¶F. 2005 CAIRO 9209 Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Donald A. Blome for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Key Points: -- (C) Ayman Nour confirmed reports of police harassment at an event for artists and poets held on the evening of October 21 in support of his campaign against succession. Items seized by police were returned except a laptop used to store information about the campaign. Nour associate Ahmed Abdel Gawad was released after a half hour in custody. -- (C) Nour launched the "Egyptian Campaign Against Succession" on October 14, but is no longer heading it. Cairo University Professor Hassan Nafaa has taken the lead. Nour's campaign includes the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), political movements like "April 6" and Kifaya and some opposition parties. -- (C) Nour will file a complaint on the police "raid" with the Public Prosecutor. Nour also told us of a second complaint he intends to file alleging security services were complicit in bringing charges against him in 2005. ¶2. (C) Comment: Following his release, Nour has remained active in the political scene despite the restrictions against him (Reftel A). The recent announcement of the "Egyptian Campaign Against Succession" (ECAS) has been his highest profile effort to date and has clearly piqued the interest of the security services. MB participation in the ECAS is likely also of concern to the GoE. He has indicated to us in the past that he had "evidence of collusion" by members of the security services in bringing the case against him in 2005. He said he was "waiting for the right time to use it." We do not have any indication that this "evidence" (which we have not seen) will aid in any way in overturning his conviction. Nour's anti-succession campaign received a lot of press attention but has been less successful in garnering the participation of mainstream opposition forces. The naming of the well-respected Dr. Hassan Nafaa to lead ECAS might be seen as a way to draw those members of the opposition who speak out against succession but are not fans of Ayman Nour. End Comment. ¶3. (C) Ayman Nour confirmed to us reports of police harassment at an October 21 event at the Ayman Nour Cultural Center in Bab El-Shaariyya. (Note: This is a community center in Nour's former constituency that he has used to host El Ghad Party events. It is also used by the local community for other private events. End Note.) The celebration was to highlight support by artists and poets for the Nour-initiated "Egyptian Campaign Against Succession" launched on October ¶14. The coalition is now being led by Cairo University professor and political commentator Dr. Hassan Nafaa. Nour has told us he will step down from a primary leadership role but that he has retained control of ECAS's "organizational" and "activities" committees. Kifaya activist George Is'haq will lead the Legal Committee (focused on possible constitutional reform). A yet-to be named MB member will head the Political Committee. ECAS will also have an Economic Committee and a committee focused on tracking government efforts to "promote" Gamal Mubarak. Participants in the Coalition include El Ghad, April 6, Kifaya, Amal (Note: The Islamist party not associated with Egypt's labor movement that was shut down by the Political Parties Affairs Committee. End Note.),Anwar Sadat's Reform and Development Party, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Karama party, the Communist Party of Egypt (Note: Founded in 2002, they have not applied for registration as a legal party, citing the hostile environment for the opposition. End Note.) and individual but not official participation by members of the Democratic Front Party (DFP),the Nasserist Party, Tagammu (the liberal socialist party) and the Wafd. Media report that Dr. Nafaa will reach out to these parties to urge them to join ECAS or at least announce their support for its goals. On October 22, the independent daily Al Masry Al Yom reported that DFP leader Osama El Ghazali Harb announced his support for ECAS along with his party's rejection of a 6th term for President Mubarak and the succession of Gamal Mubarak using the slogan "A true Egyptian says NO to succession," borrowed from the national railway campaign "A true Egyptian says NO to wrong-doing." CAIRO 00002031 002 OF 002 ¶4. (C) According to Nour and Sayed Bassiouny (El Ghad Assistant Secretary General and President of the Alexandria Committee),festivities began early and included patriotic songs played on a loud speaker. At seven p.m. uniformed officers entered the gathering saying they were responding to complaints from neighbors about the noise. They detained Nour associate Ahmed Abdel Gawad, took possession of a laptop (which reportedly includes information about the campaign against succession),a projector and two amplifiers. Gawad was released after a half hour in police custody. All items taken but the laptop have been returned. Nour confirmed that he arrived at eight p.m. after police had left the center. Separately, Bassiouny confirmed there was no damage to the center and no one was harmed. Neither Nour nor Bassiouny were able confirm claims made to the Blog Bikya Misr that fifty officers raided the event. Nour told us that he had commented on the event to several newspapers. We have not yet seen significant coverage of this event in the media. ¶5. (C) In a conversation on the morning of October 22 while Nour was on his way to the Public Prosecutors office, he said that the October 21 incident had crossed a line and he had decided to file an official complaint. Nour also told us that he will file a second complaint today alleging complicity of State Security Investigations Services (SSIS) officers in the case filed against him in 2005. Specifically, Nour claimed to have a 2005 letter sent by Regab Hillal Hameida, an MP affiliated with the pro-government "parallel" El Ghad party led by former Nour confidante Musa Musa and formed in 2005 (Reftels B, C and D), to Lieutenant Colonel Amr Mohsen, whom Nour calls the officer in charge of "political party activity." The letter makes allegations that Nour was an "agent" of the U.S. government and had secretly received funding for his 2005 presidential campaign from the U.S. According to Nour it was this document that began the original investigation against him. Nour alleges that these accusations were manufactured and when not corroborated, charges he forged signatures in support of the Ghad Party license were brought against him (Reftels E and F). Nour added that Lt.Col. Mohsen had been present at the October 21 "raid" at his cultural center. Scobey