CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities have prevented a leading political dissident from traveling to the U.S., saying Friday that the conditions of his early release from prison do not permit him to travel abroad.
Ayman Nour, freed on Feb. 18 for health reasons, was jailed for nearly four years after challenging the country's longtime president, Hosni Mubarak, in a 2005 election. He had been convicted of forgery in the vote, though he and his supporters say the charges were fabricated to eliminate him from politics.
In a request to Egypt's general prosecutor, Nour asked for permission to travel to the U.S., but his claim was rejected, said Ahmad Abdel-Gawad, an assistant to Nour. Nour was planning to meet Egyptians living in the United States on Saturday, Abdel-Gawad said, adding that the opposition leader viewed the travel ban as an attempt to restrict his political activity.
The prosecutor rejected the request because the conditions of his early release from a seven-year sentence do not allow him to travel outside Egypt, said a police official close to the case. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to reporters.
A diabetic dependent on insulin, Nour also had cardiovascular surgery while in prison.
Nour challenged Mubarak for the presidency in a September 2005 vote, finishing a distant second in Egypt's first contested presidential election.
He is the leader of the Ghad party and was the first politician to pose a credible challenge to Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt unquestioned for more than a quarter century. At the time, Mubarak's government was under domestic and international pressure to enact political reforms, and Nour stepped forward as a charismatic voice calling for greater democracy.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the U.S. government was disappointed by the decision to bar Nour from traveling.
"We hope the government of Egypt will review its decision in this case and allow Mr. Nour to travel to the United States as planned," Kelly said.
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