[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 186 (Thursday, December 6, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           MARKING HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: THE PLIGHT OF AYMAN NOUR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 6, 2007

  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, on Monday, December 10, the United States 
joins the world in celebration of Human Rights Day, remembering the 
historic occasion when the General Assembly of the United Nations 
adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This 
document affirms the elementary rights that belong to all humankind.
  Nearly six decades after the adoption of this critical Declaration, 
and 46 years after I joined the first Freedom Rides to uphold civil and 
human rights for all citizens of the United States, there are still 
many people around the globe struggling to gain the rights that we as 
Americans hold dear.
  The plight of one man, Ayman Nour, is emblematic of the myriad 
injustices that continue to afflict our fellow citizens of the world 
today. Nour, a parliamentarian and a leading voice for democracy in 
Egypt, was arrested and jailed in 2005 after his candidacy in the 
country's first open presidential election. He was charged with 
forgery, but his imprisonment is widely understood as a political move 
by the Egyptian government to crack down on the opposition. The 
illegitimate nature of the charges against him, along with Nour's 
serious health concerns, including heart problems and diabetes, are 
grounds for his immediate release. This week, however, Nour enters the 
third year of his 5-year sentence with little reason for optimism. His 
latest appeal was rejected earlier this year after the state-sponsored 
Egyptian media launched a smear campaign against him.
  Nour is not the only victim of this crackdown. Judges, journalists, 
ethnic and religious minorities, civil society and human rights 
activists, and everyday citizens have all been targeted. Nour and 
countless others fighting for their fundamental freedoms continue to 
look to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as an ideal, not as a 
reality. For the millions who have suffered greatly, Nour's release 
would symbolize a recommitment to the inherent dignity and the equal 
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as cited in 
the Declaration's Preamble.
  On this Human Rights Day, in the spirit of cooperation between 
nations, I urge the Egyptian government to release Ayman Nour, and to 
uphold its stated commitment to civil and human rights.

                          ____________________