ElBaradei accuses government of publishing his daughter's pictures
Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, has accused Egypt's government of being behind the publication of private photographs of his daughter in an attempted smear. ElBaradei, a potential presidential candidate in the coming elections, said the regime was leading a defamation campaign against him. Some Egyptian newspapers have published photographs of ElBaradei's daughter Laila dressed in swimming costumes and at an event in which alcohol was served. The pictures, apparently taken from her Facebook profile, were posted on the social networking site under the title 'ElBaradei's Family Secrets'. Commenting on the publication of personal photographs for his family on Facebook, ElBaradei said this "demonstrates the necessity of the demands for change we advocate because it is the only way to bring about democracy and reform". "Such campaigns are always the only response by the regime to those who call for democracy, but democracy is the only way for freedom, economic reform, social justice, and dealing with citizens as human beings who have human rights," the Nobel Laureate, who returned to Egypt in February this year to push for reforms. "This is the last straw, and it is only a matter of time. Perhaps the issue requires more time, but change is inevitable, for there can be no regime that belongs to the Middle Ages in the twentieth century," said the former chief of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. The ruling National Democratic Party has condemned the publication of the pictures on Facebook. While Muslim Brotherhood, the influential Islamist opposition movement, said it was not interested in ElBaradei's personal life. Since ElBaradei returned to Egypt, he has emerged as the most recognisable dissident in the country which has been ruled by 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak for nearly three decades.
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