Egypt continues interrogation on Mubarak's sons in jail: MENA

CAIRO, April 17, 2011 (Xinhua) --

The Public Prosecution interrogated Sunday Alaa and Gamal, sons of former President Hosni Mubarak, in Tura jail to complete previous interrogations, according to MENA news agency.

Mubarak still in Sharm El-Sheikh hospital: state media

CAIRO, April 17 (Xinhua) --

Egyptian former President Hosni Mubarak is still in Sharm El-Sheikh Hospital along with his wife Suzanne, Egypt's state news agency MENA quoted an official source as saying on Sunday.

On the contrary, Egypt's al-Ahram newspaper reported on its website Saturday that Mubarak has been transferred by a military helicopter to the International Medical Center, some 42 km east of the capital Cairo, and he will stay there until the end of his interrogation on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protestors.

Mubarak was sent to the Sharm El-Sheikh hospital on Tuesday after suffering heart problems while being interrogated by prosecutors.

Egyptian Prosecutor General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud on Wednesday ordered a 15-day detention for Mubarak on charges including the ordering the killing of protesters, embezzlement of public funds and abuse of power.

The prosecutor general issued on Friday a decision to move Mubarak to a military hospital.

Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were sent to the Tora prison in Cairo on Wednesday awaiting investigations.

Editor: Yang Lina

Mubarak transferred to military hospital near Cairo

CAIRO, April 16 (Xinhua) --

Former President Hosni Mubarak has been transferred to a military hospital near Cairo from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, the Egyptian Ahram newspaper reported on its website Saturday.

Mubarak was taken by a military helicopter to the International Medical Center, some 42 km east of the capital, where he will stay until the end of his interrogation on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protestors, the website said.

Egyptian General Prosecutor Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud decided Friday to move the former president to a military hospital.

Egypt's official MENA news agency said earlier Saturday Mubarak, who was being treated at a Sharm El-Sheikh hospital, was in stable condition.

Mubarak was admitted to the Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital Tuesday after he suffered heart problems during questioning by state prosecutors.

His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were arrested and sent to the Tora prison in Cairo Wednesday pending investigations.

Mubarak, two sons detained 15 days

CAIRO, April 13 (Xinhua) --

Egypt's Prosecutor General Abdel- Meguid Mahmoud on Wednesday ordered a 15-day detention for former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons.

Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, arrived at the Tora prison in southern Cairo Wednesday morning, official MENA news agency reported.

Mubarak, 82, was hospitalized Tuesday in Sharm el-Sheikh after suffering a heart attack during questioning by prosecutors.

Mubarak's condition was unstable till now, MENA said Wednesday, citing hospital sources.

He is now under observation and examination, the source added.

The medical sources denied reports that an Egyptian Army helicopter landed near the hospital to carry the former president to Cairo. The hospital where Mubarak is undergoing treatment is under heavy security.

Mubarak's two sons face charges of use of violence against protesters, power abuse and embezzlement of public funds.

The two sons "turned in their civil outfits, mobile phones, wallets and all other belongings to be put inside the prison's safe" after they got out of police vehicles, MENA said.

Looking "bewildered and distressed," they declined to eat breakfast and only asked for bottles of water from the prison's cafeteria, according to the report.

Egypt's Justice Ministry said the questioning of Mubarak will resume in the hospital as his health condition stabilizes.

Mubarak was forced to end his 30-year rule on Feb. 11 after the 18-day nationwide demonstration which left some 384 people dead.

Mubarak denied all the accusations against him and his family in an audio speech aired by the Al-Arabiya TV on Sunday.

On April 8, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in central Cairo's Tahrir Square, demanding the trial of Mubarak and his family.

Egypt ex-PM 'to face trial for corruption'

17 April 2011 - 14H46  

AFP -

Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif (centre) speaks to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheitat an African Union summit in Kampala, Uganda, last July. Nazif and the former ministers of interior and finance are to face trial on charges of corruption, a judicial source has told AFP.

Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Nazif and the former ministers of interior and finance are to face trial on charges of corruption, a judicial source told AFP on Sunday.

"The former prime minister Ahmed Nazif, former interior minister Habib al-Adly and former finance minister Yussef Boutros-Ghali will face trial, charged with misusing public funds and unlawful gains valued at 92 mln Egyptian pounds," ($15 mln), the source said.

Dissolving Mubarak's NDP 'icing on the cake' of revolt

17 April 2011 - 13H47  

AFP -

Protesters rallied against ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak outside the Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital on Wednesday, after Mubarak was admitted to the intensive care unit. Egypt's press have hailed the dissolution of the former ruling National Democratic Party, long a symbol of corruption, but activists say the "real work" to build democracy still lies ahead. Smoke billows from the headquarters of the former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) during anti-regime demonstrations in Cairo in January.

Egypt's press have hailed the dissolution of the NDP, long a symbol of corruption, but activists say the "real work" to build democracy still lies ahead. Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is seen in February. Egypt's press have hailed the dissolution of the former ruling National Democratic Party, long a symbol of corruption, but activists say the "real work" to build democracy still lies ahead.

Egypt's press have hailed the dissolution of the former ruling National Democratic Party, long a symbol of corruption, but activists said on Sunday that the "real work" to build democracy still lay ahead.

"The National Democratic Party is null and void," trumpeted the independent daily al-Shorouk.

"The death of the National Democratic Party," read the headline of the independent Al-Masry al-Youm.

Even state-owned papers that once served as the unofficial mouthpieces of the party of ousted president Hosni Mubarak welcomed the ruling as "historic".

On Saturday, the Supreme Administrative Court dissolved the NDP and ordered its funds and property to be handed to the government.

State television said that its headquarters overlooking the Nile, that were torched during anti-regime protests, would be turned into a museum. Another NDP building will house the National Council for Human Rights.

According to the court ruling, the party was deemed to have "ruined political life".

It "adopted policies that bolstered dictatorship and monopolised power... The party rigged elections and controled parliament and retarded the country economically and socially," the court said.

The dissolution was among the key demands of protesters who brought about the end of Mubarak's 30-year-rule, along with putting the veteran strongman on trial.

Wael Khalil, a pro-democracy activist and protest-organiser during the 18-day uprising welcomed the dissolution of the NDP as "the icing on the cake of the revolution."

"But that was the easy part, the part everyone can agree on," Khalil said.

"The real work is ahead, what kind of democracy we want, what kind of political structure will take shape. This is what lies ahead and it's much harder," he said.

Mubarak is currently under arrest in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he fled after stepping down and handing power to a military council on February 11.

His sons Alaa and Gamal, the latter a senior NDP leader, are in jail along with dozens of former regime members being investigated for violence against protesters and corruption.

During Mubarak's rule, the NDP's tentacles had stretched far and wide, controlling parliament, government and universities, mosques and syndicates.

Despite a highly marketed effort at modernisation spearheaded by Gamal Mubarak, the NDP was always centred around Mubarak senior, drawing much of its loyalty from its function as a patronage machine.

Gamal had rounded up a group of savvy young technocrats in 2004 in a bid to shake the party out of indolence with a package of reform bills and an aggressive liberalisation program.

But the new-look NDP had failed to placate the frustrations of many in the country, amid sky-rocketing prices, unemployment and widespread corruption.

The dissolution of the NDP "is another great success for our revolution," said the group "We are all Khaled Said" -- one of several that launched the uprising that toppled Mubarak.

"It's an essential demand of the revolution. Egypt will no longer be controled by one party," said Mohammed Shirdi, a spokesman for the liberal Wafd party.

"It's another response to our demands," said Hamdeen Sabbahi, the head of the Karama party who plans to run for president. "It's a step in cleaning up the old system and all its symbols of corruption."

The decision was welcomed across the board, but many argued there was more work to be done.

"It's certainly a step in the right direction. But the decision must include banning NDP cadres from running in leadership positions in future elections for a limited time," said Rabab al-Mahdy, a political science professor at the American University in Cairo.

There are still decisions being made by the government which are not participatory, Mahdy argued in reference to the direct appointment of governors by the prime minister over the weekend.

"There must be more decentralisation and participatory decisions in order to move forward," she said.