CAIRO, June 30 (UPI) -- A defendant in the trial of Egyptian opposition leader Anwar Bunni retracted written testimony, which he said he was forced to make by interrogators.
Ayman Hassan told the court Thursday that he was forced to accuse Bunni of having forged and falsified documents submitted to authorities to get permission to establish opposition al-Ghad party.
Hassan said security officers threatened to harm his family if he refused to testify against Ayman Nour, a presidential hopeful who plans to run against President Hosni Mubarak in September, in another trial.
Hassan's revelation dealt a blow to the prosecution's efforts to authenticate the accusations against Nour who pleaded not guilty on the first hearing last week.
Bunni charges that the accusations were fabricated and his trial is politically motivated.
