IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 78
Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the arrest of Ayman 
Nour, the leader of the Al Ghad party, by the Government of the 
Arab Republic of Egypt and the support of Congress for continued 
progress toward democracy in Egypt. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mr. BER-
MAN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the ar-
rest of Ayman Nour, the leader of the Al Ghad party, 
by the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and 
the support of Congress for continued progress toward 
democracy in Egypt.
Whereas the promotion of democracy, freedom, and liberty is 
central to United States national security policy; 
Whereas according to the 1999 World Values Poll, 98 percent 
of Egyptians support democracy as the best form of gov-
ernment; 
Whereas the suppression of political activity throughout the 
Arab world has strengthened Islamic extremists;
•HCON 78 IH 
Whereas the Department of State’s Country Reports on 
Human Rights Practices for 2003 states that ‘‘[Egyp-
tian] citizens did not have the meaningful right to change 
their government’’ and that ‘‘[the] ruling National Demo-
cratic Party (NDP) dominated the 454-seat People’s As-
sembly, the 264-seat Shura Council, local governments, 
the mass media, labor, and the large public sector, and 
controlled the licensing of new political parties, news-
papers and private organizations’’; 
Whereas new political parties in the Arab Republic of Egypt 
must be approved by the Political Parties Committee of 
Egypt; 
Whereas in November 2004 the Political Parties Committee 
approved the formation of the al-Ghad party; 
Whereas the al-Ghad party advocates greater transparency, 
democracy and freedom for Egypt’s 73,000,000 citizens; 
Whereas Ayman Nour has been a member of the People’s As-
sembly of Egypt for 10 years; 
Whereas on November 6, 2004, Ayman Nour was elected as 
president of the al-Ghad party; 
Whereas on December 21, 2004, the first meeting of the Su-
preme Council of the al-Ghad party was held in Cairo; 
Whereas the Government of Egypt accused Ayman Nour of 
furnishing forged signatures in support of the application 
of the al-Ghad party to the Political Parties Committee; 
Whereas Ayman Nour denied the accusation of the Govern-
ment of Egypt in a speech to the People’s Assembly of 
Egypt; 
Whereas on January 29, 2005, Ayman Nour’s immunity from 
arrest as a member of the People’s Assembly was lifted
•HCON 78 IH 
during a meeting of the Legislative and Constitutional 
Affairs Committee of the People’s Assembly; 
Whereas on January 29, 2005, Ayman Nour was arrested by 
the Government of Egypt and ordered held for up to 4 
days, which was subsequently increased to 45 days; 
Whereas Ayman Nour remains in custody in a cell with 80 
other prisoners; 
Whereas Ayman Nour has diabetes and has other health 
problems and his wife has filed multiple petitions asking 
that he be transferred to a hospital; 
Whereas on January 31, 2005, Richard Boucher, Spokesman 
for the Department of State, said: ‘‘We are concerned by 
the signal that the arrest sends. [Ayman Nour] is one of 
Egypt’s most prominent opposition leaders and the arrest 
. . . raises questions about the outlook for democratic 
process in Egypt. . . . We’re on the eve of a long-planned 
national dialogue between opposition parties, including 
Nour’s and the ruling National Democratic Party. That 
is a dialogue that we feel is very valuable and we would—
we find this arrest at this moment incongruous with pro-
ceeding with that dialogue.’’; 
Whereas on February 8, 2005, Mousa Mustafa, the deputy 
chairman of the al-Ghad party, was arrested by the Gov-
ernment of Egypt; 
Whereas on February 9, 2005, Mousa Mustafa was released 
from prison, but he still faces charges of forgery; 
Whereas on February 2, 2005, President George W. Bush, 
in his State of the Union address, stated that ‘‘the great 
and proud nation of Egypt, which showed the way toward 
peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward 
democracy in the Middle East’’; and
•HCON 78 IH 
Whereas on February 15, 2005, Secretary of State 
Condoleeza Rice, in a joint appearance with the Foreign 
Minister of Egypt, stated that ‘‘the Egyptian Government 
has the opportunity and the responsibility to be as great 
a leader for reform in the region as it has been a leader 
for peace’’: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress—
(1) condemns the arrest of Ayman Nour, the 
leader of the Al Ghad party, by the Government of 
the Arab Republic of Egypt; 
(2) calls on the Government of Egypt to release 
Ayman Nour without delay; 
(3) calls on the Government of Egypt to ensure 
that if tried, Ayman Nour and his deputy, Mousa 
Mustafa, be charged according to regular criminal 
law and tried in a regular criminal court and not a 
State Security or State Security Emergency Court, 
and that Ayman Nour and Mousa Mustafa be af-
forded the right to present a full defense; 
(4) expresses its support for the people of 
Egypt as they struggle for democracy and the estab-
lishment of the rule of law; 
(5) expresses its support for President George 
W. Bush’s call for greater democracy in Egypt, 
which he made in the State of the Union address on 
February 2, 2005;
•HCON 78 IH 
(6) encourages the President and the Secretary 
of State to reach out to human rights activists and 
the nonviolent democratic opposition in Egypt, and 
to assist them in their efforts; and 
(7) urges the Secretary of State to reconsider 
her planned participation in the G–8/Arab League 
ministerial meeting in Cairo on democracy and re-
form scheduled for March 2–3, 2005, unless Ayman 
Nour is freed.
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