CAIRO (Mustafa Suleiman)
Wife of controversial Egyptian rights activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim denied reports that her husband signed a document supporting the presidency of Gamal Mubarak, son of the incumbent Hosni Mubarak.
Dr. Barbara Ibrahim dismissed allegations that her husband, sociology professor and rights activist Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, signed the statement issued by the Popular Coalition for the Support of Gamal Mubarak (PCSGM) and which campaigns for the 2011 presidential bid of the president’s younger son.
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" There is a huge difference between supporting free elections and supporting a specific person "
Dr. Barbara Ibrahim
“My husband neither supported nor called for electing Gamal Mubarak,” she told Al Arabiya. “There is a huge difference between supporting free elections and supporting a specific person.”
According to Barbara Ibrahim, PCSGM coordinator Magdi al-Kordi visited her husband upon his arrival in Cairo and asked him to sign the coalition’s statement in support of the candidacy of Gamal Mubarak, currently chairman of the Policies Committee at the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
“My husband told him that any Egyptian man or woman has the right to run for presidency and that it is up to the people to decide.”
Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, his wife stressed, only supports democracy and implementing the will of the people, but does not support Gamal Mubarak.
Magdi al-Kordi announced earlier that Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim signed the document after being fully convinced of all its articles.
“He supported all the articles in the documents including the coalition’s plan to collect five million signatures in support of the election of Gamal Mubarak,” he said in press statements.
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Opposition slams signature
" I respect Ibrahim very much, but I am very surprised at his stance now "
NAC leader George Ishak
Kordi’s statements stirred controversy among prominent opposition figures in Egypt as many saw in Ibrahim’s action a tarnishing of his personal and political history.
Ibrahim’s action was particularly slammed by officials at the National Assembly for Change (NAC) founded by former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Dr. Mohamed al-Baradei.
George Ishak, a prominent member of NAC, expressed his surprise at Ibrahim’s reported change of heart since he has previously declared support for the NAC manifesto for political reform.
“I respect Ibrahim very much, but I am very surprised at his stance now,” he said in a press statement. “However, this will not affect the NAC. On the contrary, it will make it stronger and will increase our determination.”
Saad Eddin Ibrahim had returned to Egypt after three years in exile in the United States and left on August 30. During his brief stay, Ibrahim’s family was apprehensive that the activist would be arrested.
Ibrahim was first arrested in 2000 with 27 of his colleagues and was accused of defaming Egypt through his work at the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies. The center, founded by Ibrahim, focused on democratization and political reform in Egypt.
Ibrahim was sentenced to seven years and was released in 2003 after a spat of condemnation in the international community. He was again found guilty of tarnishing the image of Egypt in 2008 and was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail.
(Translated from the Arabic by Sonia Farid)
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