The US sharply criticized a five-year jail term handed down to Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nur on Saturday and said it calls into question its key Middle East ally's commitment to democracy.
"The United States is deeply troubled by the conviction today of Egyptian politician Ayman Nur by an Egyptian court," the White House said in a statement, after Nur was sentenced to five years in prison in a Cairo court.
"The conviction of Mr Nur, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom and the rule of law," it said.
"We are also disturbed by reports that Mr Nur's health has seriously declined due to the hunger strike on which he has embarked in protest of the conditions of his trial and detention.
"The United States calls upon the Egyptian government to act under the laws of Egypt in the spirit of its professed desire for increased political openness and dialogue within Egyptian society, and out of humanitarian concern, to release Mr Nur from detention," the statement said.
Nur, the runner-up in Egypt's presidential election, had been detained on Dec. 5, before the verdict was reached, and days later began a hunger strike that landed him in a prison hospital last week.
The US State Department echoed the White House condemnation in a statement issued by spokesman Sean McCormack.
"Mr Nur's trial has been marred by irregularities and inconsistencies and has failed to meet the international standards of transparency and the respect for rule of law that the Egyptian government has publicly espoused," he said.
A Cairo criminal court sentenced the former presidential candidate to five years on Saturday for allegedly forging affidavits to register his Ghad (Tomorrow) political party last year.
Six co-defendants received prison terms ranging from three to 10 years.
Nur has always denied the charges and alleged that they were trumped up by the regime to undermine his political career.
The sentences capped a six-month trial that Nur's supporters called a political show and which put Washington at loggerheads with the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice scolded her Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit about the case in February and postponed a scheduled trip to Cairo in March after Nur's incarceration on the same charges earlier this year.
He was subsequently released and ran a feisty campaign in the country's first pluralist presidential race.
US President George W. Bush's administration had hoped to make Egypt, which receives nearly US$2 billion a year in US military and economic aid, a model of its campaign to promote Middle East democracy.
The Americans cheered when Mubarak pushed through an amendment to the Constitution to allow a multi-candidate election for president in September. The incumbent won handily, with Nur, 41, finishing second.
Parliamentary elections held over last month and this month were more problematic, marred by violence and intimidation by Egyptian authorities alarmed by the strong showing of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
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