US embassy cable - 05CAIRO9209

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 009209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC STAFF FOR SINGH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, EG, Ayman Nour 
SUBJECT: EGYPT: OPPOSITION LEADER AYMAN NOUR'S TRIAL HEADS 
TOWARD CONCLUSION 
 
REF: CAIRO 9053 
 
Classified by ECPO Minister-Counselor Michael Corbin for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary: The trial of political opposition leader 
Ayman Nour, supervised by Judge Adel Abdel-Salam Gom'a, has 
been characterized by all of the irregularities and 
inconsistencies of the first two trials of Saad Eddin Ibrahim 
in 2001-2002, also tried by Judge Gom'a.  The prosecution has 
generally appeared inept, at best.  The Judge initially 
refused to allow the defense to make any arguments or call 
any witnesses, but ultimately relented in the face of a 
defense gambit that attracted embarrassing publicity.  Farid 
al-Deeb, a flamboyant "lawyer to the stars," offered on 
December 10 a lengthy summation for the defense, detailing 
the contention that the case is driven by political rather 
than legal factors.  The prosecution is expected to offer a 
rebuttal during a session on December 12.  A verdict could 
come any time thereafter.  Ultimately, we expect the judge to 
live up to his reputation for political "reliability." 
Whether the trial moves quickly or slowly, and toward a 
conviction or an acquittal, will be based on considerations 
other than the legal merits of the case.  End summary. 
 
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Inept Prosecution 
----------------- 
 
2. (C) The consensus among courtroom observers is that the 
prosecution has been inept and at times incoherent in its 
attempts to prove that Ayman Nour knowingly submitted 
documents containing forged signatures in support of the Ghad 
Party's license application in late 2004.  At various times 
during the proceedings, the prosecution has seemed content to 
back up its assertions and allegations against Nour not with 
exhibits and testimony, but by citing Quranic verses and 
sayings of the Prophet Muhammad that deal with the punishment 
of the corrupt and the wicked. 
 
3. (C) A particularly apt example of the prosecution's 
ineptitude came on November 28, when a  Notary Public called 
as a witness for the prosecution testified that all three 
Ghad Party documents she had examined were legal and in 
order.  Apparently caught off guard, the prosecutor asked 
her, in an exasperated tone, about "the other 11 documents - 
didn't you see forged signatures on them?"  The Notary Public 
replied calmly:  "I was given three documents to examine and 
all three were legal and in order."  After the session, the 
prosecutor was seen yelling at the witness, following her 
into the lobby. 
 
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An Arbitrary Bench 
------------------ 
 
4. (C) Judge Adel Abdel Salam Gom'a's management of the case 
to date has been arbitrary and unpredictable.  During several 
sessions in November, he consistently ignored any and all 
defense motions, and showed no inclination to even allow the 
defense to call any witnesses.  On November 29, Nour's entire 
defense team announced in exasperation that they were 
resigning en masse.  The dramatic move prompted headlines in 
several independent Egyptian dailies.  The defense team's 
resignation was a gambit which apparently succeeded in its 
aim.  Defense lawyers showed up for the November 30 session 
and found an uncharacteristically amiable Judge Gom'a happy 
to allow them to call witnesses.  Yet Gom'a surprised 
observers again with his December 5 order that Nour be 
remanded to custody, prompting predictions that a conviction 
and jail sentence were certain to be meeted out at the next 
hearing - on December 10 (reftel).  Again, these predictions 
did not come to pass. 
 
5. (C) It remains unclear whether the statements of Ayman 
Ismail Hassan, a.k.a. "defendant number 3," have been 
admitted into the official court record.  Hassan told the 
court in June that he had been coerced by prosecutors into 
signing an affidavit incriminating Nour, prompting shouts of 
vindication from Nour and his supporters.  However, as of 
December 10, no one on the defense team could tell poloff for 
certain whether Hassan's recantation had been officially 
recorded by the court.  In any case, according to Nour's lead 
defense attorney, GOE retaliation against Hassan for his 
embarrassing revelation was harsh.  He is currently being 
housed in cells normally reserved for condemned prisioners, 
lawyer Amir Salem claimed. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Defense Summation: A Political, not Legal Case 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
6. (SBU) The defense presented its summation during a five 
hour session on December 10.  Hundreds of riot police watched 
over about 300 Nour supporters gathered in front of the 
courthouse.  The crowd's pro-Nour and anti-Mubarak chants 
were clearly audible inside the courtroom.  Poloffs from the 
U.S., Sweden, and Norway attended the hearing, as did dozens 
of Egyptian journalists and correspondents from al-Jazeera, 
al-Arabiya, al-Hurra, and even an Iranian satellite news 
channel. 
 
7. (C) Farid al-Deeb, one of Cairo's most celebrated 
attorneys, offered a lengthy, detailed, and often flamboyant 
review of the evolution of the criminal case against Nour, 
arguing that the timing, nature, and procedures followed in 
the case all proved that political rather than legal factors 
were the driving elements.  Ultimately, al-Deeb asserted, the 
case against Nour constitutes an abuse of the judicial system 
by politicians intent on taking revenge on him. 
Interestingly, al-Deeb eagerly and frequently repeated his 
view that President Mubarak himself was not involved in the 
efforts of unnamed senior officials to destroy Nour. 
 
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Prognosis 
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8. (C) The prosecution will offer a rebuttal to Farid 
al-Deeb's summation on December 12.  It is unknown whether 
lawyers for Nour's six co-defendants will also be allowed 
additional time, or if the judge will retire to contemplate a 
verdict after the prosecution's rebuttal.  A verdict could 
come on December 12, or sometime later.  We do not believe 
this case will be decided on its legal merits.  Based on 
Judge Gom'a's handling of the case so far, and his conduct of 
Saad Eddin Ibrahim's two trials in 2001 and 2002, we believe 
Judge Gom'a will live up to his reputation for political 
"reliablity."   Ultimately, therefore, whether the judge 
moves quickly or slowly, and toward a conviction or an 
acquittal, will be based on considerations other than the 
legal merits of the case. 
 
 
RICCIARDONE