Egypt’s Military Ruler Pardons Ayman Nour Ahead of Elections

The head of Egypt’s ruling military council pardoned Ayman Nour, opening the door for the politician imprisoned under Hosni Mubarak to contest presidential elections.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi pardoned Nour from “all the consequences” of his 2005 conviction, the state-run Middle East News Agency said. The decision allows Nour “to exercise all his political rights,” it said.

Nour, who challenged Mubarak in 2005 elections, was imprisoned on fraud charges that the New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch has described as “trumped up.” He was released on health grounds in 2009.

He has previously expressed interest in running in the presidential vote scheduled for May, though it remains unclear if he will actually contest the race. Presidential candidates have until April 8 to register.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mariam Fam in Cairo at mfam1@bloomberg.net;

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net;