Egypt: Not the Picture of Democracy

It's been a long month away from the Blogosphere, but not away from the keyboard. Part of it was spent in Cairo, where the political freedoms allowed to blossom last year are drying up like lilies in the desert This week, I got word from Gameela Ismail, whose husband Ayman Nour was jailed after running against Hosni Mubarak in presidential elections, that the conference hall Nour established in his old parliamentary district had been burned. While I was in Cairo, I attended the hearing for Nour, where his appeal was rejected and he was, as a result, condemned to four more years in prison. Some pictures:


Gameela Ismail and her older son wait in court for word on Ayman Nour's appeal.


Ismail speads to reporters as an unidentified man watches and listens.



Gameela Ismail speaking to Al Jazeera outside courthouse, with riot police in background.