Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's former prime minister and a candidate in the second round runoff for the Egyptian presidency, says that court rulings "cannot be taken advantage of for presidential election campaigning".

Shafiq's just been addressing a press conference, where he said that he was prepared to work with all political parties and forces. He said that under him, no one will be detained without reason, and that the security apparatus will respect the rule of law and human rights.

Shafiq also attacked the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Muhammad al-Morsi, saying that his party represented "backwardness". \

"I represent all Egypt, they represent an isolated category. I am national reconciliation, the Brotherhood is revenge. I represent tolerance, the Brotherhood is isolation and discrimination. My history is known, theirs is dark," he said.