Ayman Nour

Ayman Abd El Aziz Nour (Egyptian Arabic: أيمن عبد العزيز نور, IPA: [ˈʔæjmæn ʕæbdelʕæˈziːz ˈnuːɾ]; born 5 December 1964) is an Egyptian politician, a former member of the Egyptian Parliament, founder and chairman of the El Ghad party. Nour was the first man to ever compete against President Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election. However shortly after announcing his candidacy, Nour was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and arrested on 29 January 2005, a move that was widely criticized by governments around the world as a step backwards for Egyptian democracy. Due to international pressure, Nour was released to participate in the election and was unsuccessful. The election was widely considered to be a corrupt and rigged election. He was arrested again shortly after and released nearly five years later. Nour left Egypt following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état and spent time in Lebanon for treatment of a wound he sustained while in prison. Nour now resides in Istanbul, Turkey and expresses his hope for returning to Egypt.