The decision earlier this week by dissident Saad Eddin Ibrahim to sign a petition in support of a presidential bid by Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak, has drawn angry reactions from Egypt's political opposition, spokesmen for which say Ibrahim had either "lost his mind" or cut a deal with the ruling regime.
The prominent rights activist had hitherto been considered one of Egypt's foremost opponents of the anticipated "inheritance" of the presidency from father to son.
“I'm shocked,” said George Ishak, member of the National Association for Change opposition group. “The man had been the first to voice opposition to the inheritance scheme.”
“He must have struck some kind of deal with the regime to allow him to return to Egypt,” said Osama al-Ghazali Harb, president of the Democratic Front opposition party.
A university professor who holds US citizenship, Saad Eddin left for the United States upon his release from prison in 2003 after serving three years for "tarnishing Egypt's reputation," a charge for which he was later acquitted. Ibrahim returned to Egypt earlier this month.
Ayman Nour, founder of the opposition Ghad Party, described Ibrahim's about-face as "a total deviation from his known line of thinking.”
The Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, which is headed by Ibrahim, issued a statement in which Ibrahim asserted: “All I told coalition members when they visited me at the center was that every citizen had the right to run in elections, including Gamal Mubarak.”
The statement went on to note that Ibrahim’s support for this principle did not necessarily mean he backed any particular candidate, insisting that the coalition had "misunderstood" his position and had consequently "misled" the public.
In a related development, the Muslim Brotherhood opposition movement has refused to meet with Magdi al-Kordi, coordinator of the Coalition in Support of Gamal Mubarak, who had earlier announced his intention to meet with brotherhood leaders in hopes of obtaining the group's support.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
