Shortly after announcing his candidacy, he was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and arrested on 29 January 2005, a move that was widely criticized by governments around the world as a step backwards for Egyptian democracy.

The arrest, occurring in an election year, was widely criticized by governments around the world as a step backwards for Egyptian democracy.

In February 2005, Condoleezza Rice abruptly postponed a visit to Egypt, reflecting U.S. displeasure at the jailing of Nour, who was reported to have been brutally interrogated.

In March 2005, following a strong intervention in Cairo by a group of members of the European Parliament led by Vice-President Edward McMillan-Scott (UK, Conservative), Nour was freed and began a campaign for the Egyptian presidency.

We are also disturbed by reports that Mr Nour'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 Nour from detention.In February 2006, Rice visited Mubarak yet never spoke Nour's name publicly.

Days later, Mubarak told a government newspaper that Rice "didn't bring up difficult issues or ask to change anything".

I look forward to the day when a conference like this one [can] include Alexander Kozulin of Belarus, Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, Oscar Elias Biscet of Cuba, Father Nguyen Van Ly of Vietnam, Ayman Nour of Egypt (applause).

[15] In December 2021, the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab reported that Nour's phone had been infected with the Predator and Pegasus spywares.