Four members of Al-Ghad party were rounded up yesterday by Egyptian police in Beheira governorate north of Cairo, the party said in a statement. âThey were arrested for no legal reason ... they were arrested because they were putting up posters supporting Ayman Nour in the Abu Homous village,â said Nour who is running in Egyptâs first contested presidential elections.âThe four are detained unlawfully. This is an outrageous precedent meant to scare off supporters of the Ghad and deter them from actively promoting Nour,â a statement by the party said. Ghad demanded the immediate release of its members and accused the regime of preventing Nour campaign advertisements from appearing on state-run television. The party also demanded state security forces ârefrain from threatening active membersâ.
The presidential electoral commission has banned Nourâs campaign television spot on the grounds the theme song had been plagiarized, the party spokeswoman said. Gamila Ismail branded the move âone of the dirtiest tricks of the campaignâ for the Sept. 7 presidential poll and blamed President Hosni Mubarakâs camp, alleged by the opposition to hold sway over the electoral commission.