A HANDFUL OF PROTESTORS gathered outside the White House over the weekend to advocate for the release of jailed Egyptian politician Ayman Nour. The small group of protestors hold signs and chanted, “Stop supporting Mubarak! Stop funding dictators! Free Ayman Nour!”

The protest group was comprised largely of Dr. Ahmed Mansour and his family members. Mansour, an Egyptian intellectual and a colleague of Nour, was imprisoned repeatedly in Egypt before seeking political asylum in the United States in 2002. Mansour is one of a growing group of Egyptian scholars, politicians, and journalists–typified by Ayman Nour–imprisoned for criticizing the regime and calling for reform.