[JURIST] Egyptian judges Monday ordered opposition leader and recent presidential candidate Ayman Nour [Wikipedia profile] to appear in court again Tuesday to answer charges connected to the submission of forged signatures [JURIST report] when his party applied for official recognition last year. Nour's wife and spokesperson, Gameela Ismail, suggested that the timing of the trial session deliberately coincided with the parliamentary swearing-in ceremony of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak [official profile]. Nour recently claimed fraud in the election vote count [JURIST report] after Mubarak claimed a landslide victory [JURIST report] in the multi-candidate poll earlier this month. In Monday's court session, Nour's lawyers asked for a new panel of judges, claiming bias with the current members of the panel. The court will decide how to respond to Nour's request Tuesday. If Nour is convicted, he could be imprisoned for up to ten years. Reuters has more.
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