The Ayman Nour circus

Yesterday the Ayman Nour Trial started, and from the sound of it, it seems to be more of a circus thean a real trial: Ayman wasn't initially allowed to go inside the courtroom of his own trial, supporters were chanting outside while the government security forces were blocking them, Nour's co-defendents were actually attacking him and their lawyers were asking for documents like Nour's PHD and National ID in order to prove that he is a forgerer, which is weird considering that this is the government's job, and Nour was smoking a cigar and giving interviews behind bars to the few press members that were allowed to go in. (Check pictures here via the arabist) However, if there is any indication of how the government intends to play this one, well, look no futher then at the Judge they appointed for this case : It's the same Judge that jailed Saad El Din Ibrahim in 2001 for "Tarnishing Egypt's reputation" by doing research on egyptian election fraud. Different name, but the game is still the same!