Egyptian dissident banned from traveling to US

Egyptian dissident banned from traveling to US

The Egyptian public prosecutor has issued an administrative order preventing opposition politician Ayman Nour from traveling to the United States. Nour had been invited by several organizations and was due to speak at a forum organized by the National Endowment for Democracy.

A leading liberal who was jailed after contesting the first multi-party presidential election in 2005, Nour recently launched a Campaign Against Presidential Succession, in partnership with the Muslim Brotherhood and various other opposition groups.  

The Washington-based Voices for a Democratic Egypt described the move as the latest “step in an overall pattern … of stifling dissent and undermining dissidents” trying to promote democracy and human rights.