Still hanging

The case of opposition leader Ayman Nour continues to drag on, with any decision on his release from prison delayed until the end of July, reports Mona El-Nahhas

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The Administrative Court will give a final ruling on whether opposition leader Ayman Nour can be released from prison on health grounds on 31 July, the court panel hearing Nour's petition decided on Tuesday.

Asked whether she thought the court would rule in Nour's favour, Nour's wife Gamila Ismail told reporters that nothing could be predicted.

Nour's defence team had asked the panel to issue a final ruling on Tuesday, arguing that they had submitted all the documents asked for by the court. The presiding judge responded that the court needed more time to study documents presented by both Nour's lawyers and the government.

Medical reports, compiled by leading professors of forensic medicine, had been submitted to the court by Nour's defence, questioning earlier reports submitted by the Forensic Medicine Authority which had concluded Nour's current health did not justify early release.

During Tuesday's hearing session lawyers representing the government had objected to the submission of independent reports, arguing their neutrality could not be guaranteed. Nour had been suffering from diabetes, heart problems and hypertension long before he was jailed, said the government lawyers, and there was no evidence to suggest his condition had deteriorated since his detention. Any release on health grounds remains conditional: i.e. should the prisoner's health improve sufficiently following release he would be returned to prison.

The court has linked Nour's case to that of a second prisoner, Ahmed Mazloum, who is also seeking release on health grounds. Both cases, said the court, should be heard in tandem and any judgement will have to wait for the official report into Mazloum's medical condition. Following delays on the part of the state's Forensic Medicine Authority in compiling Mazloum's medical report, his relatives have appealed to leading forensic specialists to help compile an independent assessment of Mazloum's condition.

During Tuesday's session government lawyers asked the court to delay its ruling until the official report is ready and to disregard unofficial reports. The panel replied that it was not the prerogative of lawyers to dictate what the court should do.

Nour, former chairman of the liberal Al-Ghad Party and a candidate in Egypt's first contested presidential elections, was jailed in December 2005 on charges of forging the signatures needed for his party to be licensed. If released, Nour would be banned from re- entering politics.

The State Jurisdiction Authority -- representing the government -- filed an appeal before the Higher Administrative Court contesting the Cairo Administrative Court's right to hear Nour's petition. On Monday, the Higher Administrative Court decided to delay the hearing of the appeal until 2 September.

Nour's petition has long been dogged by struggles between various legal bodies over which has the right to decide whether or not he is released. Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud earlier argued that it was his prerogative to decide whether or not Nour was eligible for early release on health grounds, though when Nour appealed to Mahmoud asking for a release, the prosecutor-general, in what was interpreted as an attempt to avoid any embarrassment with the regime should he feel compelled to order a release, referred the petition to the Criminal Court which had originally sentenced Nour. Nour subsequently filed a case against Mahmoud before the Administrative Court.

Many legal experts believe the battle over prerogatives is being orchestrated with the aim of avoiding the implementation of any ruling should the court find in Nour's favour.