Egypt: 26 percent turnout in elections
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-11 10:49

Nour finished a distant second to longtime President Hosni Mubarak in a September election and lost his parliament seat in November polls.

"Just skimming through the pages of the case, I was appalled by the amount of injustice and framing against Ayman Nour," said his lawyer, Farid el-Deeb. "It's another series of taking revenge and persecuting political opposition."

Nour's Jan. 29 arrest and subsequent 42-day detention without charges strained relations between the United States and Egypt. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice canceled a March visit; when she eventually came in June, met with Nour and other opposition figures.

U.S. and European representatives were in the courtroom Saturday.