Ayman Nour's release in return of Obama's visit to Cairo

Ayman Nour, the leader of El-Ghad (the Future) libral Egyptian party, who was the only serious contender in the last presidential election and finished in the second place, was released from jail today after being held for 4 years. He was accused with forging 1000 out of the 2005 signatures he provided to establish his party. The accusation was clearly false as he needed only 50 signatures and more than a million voted for him for president, thus there was no need for him to forge them. US pressured a lot for his release but Bush administration was in deep trouble in Iraq and can't afford offending the Egyptian regime that much.

It seems that Nour's release today for medical reasons was under pressure from Obama administration especially that Nour's health was very bad two years ago and his medical release was denied multiple times. We all know that Obama promised to address the Islamic world from an Islamic capital in his first 100 days in office. Cairo seemed a natural fit. The capital of the biggest Arabic state, the heart of the Islamic world and a strategic ally to US. The biggest hardle was human rights. Cairo has a very bad record, It seems that Nour's release was the price tag Washington put on Obama's visit. 

It is definitely good news though :)