Egyptian authorities have banned prominent opposition figure Ayman Nour, founder of the Ghad al-Thawra Party, from travel pending investigation on charges relating to violent clashes that took place near the cabinet building in mid-December
On 16 December, a weeks-long sit-in outside the cabinet building protesting the appointment of Kamal al-Ganzouri as prime minister was violently dispersed by the Egyptian military, who used live ammuntion in their attack and killed 17 protesters.
Nour, who was imprisoned during the Mubarak era, faces charges of inciting the destruction of public property and assaulting soldiers during the clashes. According to Egyptian news reports, one man who took part in the clashes is said to have alleged that Nour had paid him to attack the armed forces and create chaos.
Gamal Eid of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said Nour is charged with financing thugs to carry out acts of violence in order to drive a wedge between the people and the armed forces.
Nour said that his party does not object the government formed by Ganzouri, who served as prime minister under Mubarak. “So how come we took part in this?” he said. “And I never heard of the man who confessed against me.”
Nour also said that he was ill at the time of the clashes, and that he watched the incident from home on television.
Also charged in the case is prominent engineer Mamdouh Hamza, Tarek al-Kholy of the April 6 Youth Movement, political activist Nawara Negm and Sheikh Mazhar Shaheen, the imam of Omar Makram Mosque.
