Egypt detains Mubarak and sons over corruption, abuse of authority

Statement posted on prosecutor general's office Facebook page says ongoing investigation is in place into orders to open fire on demonstrators during recent upheavals.

By The Associated Press and Haaretz Service

Egypt's prosecutor general announced Wednesday a 15-day detention for former President Hosni Mubarak to investigate accusations of corruption and abuse of authority, hours after announcing the detention of his sons Alaa and Gamal.

News of the reported detention order came a day hours after Mubarak, 82, was hospitalized with heart problems as investigations began over his own role in corruption and suppressing the protests that eventually led to his ouster.

	Ousted Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak attends a meeting with South Africa's President Jacob Zuma at the presidential palace in Cairo October 19, 2010.
	Photo by: Reuters

The former Egyptian president was deposed Feb. 11 after 18 days of popular protests and has been under house arrest in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for the last two months.

According to a statement posted on the Facebook page of the prosecutor general's office early Wednesday, Mubarak, as well his sons have been detained for 15 days.

"The prosecutor general orders the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa for 15 days pending investigation after the prosecutor general presented them with the current state of its ongoing investigations," it read.

The statement says the ongoing investigation was into the orders to open fire on demonstrators as well as any abuse of the president's authority for personal gain.

Deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's sons Gamal (R) and Alaa (L) try their video camera as they wait for the fourth total solar eclipse of the 21st century in Sallum, on the border with Libya.AFP

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Mubarak's reported detention came just hours after Egyptian prosecutors ordered the detention of his two powerful sons over their role in violence against protesters and corruption allegations are investigated.

Alaa and Gamal Mubarak are, like their father, to be detained for 15 days, Egyptian state television said on Wednesday. State prosecutors are probing accusations of embezzlement.

Many of Mubarak's top associates are now being questioned for their activities in the previous regime, but the detention of his sons is by far the most startling development since his Feb. 11 removal from office.

Gamal Mubarak, his younger son, was a top official in the ruling party and was widely seen as being groomed to succeed his father before popular protests brought down the regime.

While the ex-president was in the hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he has been living since being removed from power, his sons were taken for questioning to the nearby courthouse by prosecutors from Cairo.

An angry crowd of 2,000 people gathered outside and demanded the two be arrested.
In the early hours of the morning, the head of provincial security in the South Sinai told the crowd that Gamal and his businessman brother Alaa would be detained.

"Brothers, whatever you wanted, you have got ... 15 days," said Maj. Gen. Mohammed el-Khatib, as the crowd erupted in cheers. Egyptian state television later confirmed the order.

As a police van took away the two brothers, the crowd pelted it with water bottles, stones and their flip-flops, a sign of disrespect in the Arab world.

In the two months since Mubarak stepped down, the council of generals ruling the country have initiated a series of investigations of top regime officials.

Leaders across the Mideast are looking to escape Mubarak's fate

Mubarak's investigation, as well as that of two of his sons, is one of the most important measures undertaken by the new regime to calm an anxious Egyptian public.

By Zvi Bar'el

Three leaders, Muammar Gadhafi, Bashar Assad, and Ali Abdullah Saleh, are certain they can still escape the fate of Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Each of them decided to violently repress popular unrest; all of them are promising reforms without committing to a timetable; and each and every one of them has decided to ignore both international pressure and Arab attempts at compromise.

The most intense battle is being waged in Libya, where 300 people have reportedly been killed in the city of Misrata alone, with gunfights also reported in the rebel-controlled city of Ajdabiya. Despite the persistence of clashes, NATO forces have cut back on their attacks on ground targets, thus taking away much of the military backing they provided to the rebels, who have subsequently been forced to withdraw from their western advance.

	Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak receiving Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad in Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, Nov. 30, 2004.
	Photo by: AP

Meanwhile, Mubarak continues to provide the top story coming out of Egypt, after collapsing on Tuesday during questioning and rushed to a Sharm El-Sheikh hospital.

The investigation of Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, centering on allegations of embezzlement and killing protesters, is one of the most important measures undertaken by the new regime to calm the public, some of which has begun to express frustration at what looks like foot-dragging en route to political and economical reform.

But, by the evening hours Egyptian television stations were already reporting developments in Mubarak's medical condition, citing estimates he had a heart attack, and adding that his investigation has been continuating even in the hospital. As such, the controversy surrounding political reform is replaced with the question of should or not shouldn't Mubarak be allowed out of the country for medical treatment.

Defecting Libya Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who also ran the country's intelligence for a while, said in London that Libya could turn into a new Somalia if a decisive military victory was not achieved.

Koussa was travelling to Qatar on Tuesday, a fact that drew scathing criticism against the U.K. for allowing the man suspected of planning the 1988 Lockerbie bombing out of the country.

However, his warning did not seem to impress the United States. Washington, for now, has decided to object to continued ground strikes in Libya, saying it would stick to preventing attacks targeting civilians by the Libyan air force.

The U.S. decision has developed into a full-blown dispute between France and Britain, who support continued ground attacks and even in sending ground troops, and other NATO states, led by Turkey, who opposed such a move.

All the while, proposals for a diplomatic compromise, like those submitted by Turkey and the African Union, were rejected by both Gadhafi and the rebels, who are unwilling to accept any deal that does not explicitly mandate the ouster of Gadhafi and his family.

And so, as Western countries argue over the modes of military attack, Gadhafi can continue his violent struggle, one which could turn into a draw-out war of attrition.

Assad is better off than Gadhafi for several reasons. He isn't facing armed forces such as the Libya rebel groups, there are no reports of defecting military of Baath party officials, and mostly because the Western pressure on Assad isn't close to the kind of international involvement seen in Libya.

Washington may condemn the violent repression, but it has yet to demand Assad's ouster. And so, the Syrian president can surround the city of Banias with his tanks, shoot at the residents of Bayda, lay strict curfews against Daraa, cut power lines and internet service, and arrest hundreds of activists and protesters, creating the impression that the Syrian agenda will not be set in the street but in the presidential palace.

Unlike Libya, Tunisia, or Egypt, the Syrian army is inseparable from the country's regime, who also "owns" the country's economy. The possible fall of Assad's regime would mean, thus, much more than the loss financial benefits enjoyed by the regime and the president's family.

The military itself could become a target of public wrath, as would the Baath party. So theoretically, if Assad would be willing to enact far-reaching changes, he would encounter stiff resistance from the army and from the owners of the country's economical monopolies.

In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh is willing to test the ability of his opposition to topple him, as he leans on some of the tribal leaders which continue to support his rule, or on those accepting the compromise according to which a gradual leadership change would take place through new elections.

These proposals and others are rejected by those who demand Saleh's immediate ouster as a condition for any compromise. Even here it seems that Yemen could fall into a war of attrition, perhaps not as violent that taking place in Libya, but still one that disrupts and poses a danger to everyday life.

Mubarak summoned for questioning over embezzlement, death of protesters

Egypt Interior Minister Mansour el-Essawy says Mubarak will give testimony on accusations directed against him at a court on the eastern outskirts of Cairo, according to state-run al-Ahram newspaper.

By Reuters

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak received a summons to appear before a Cairo court for questioning and special security is being arranged, state-run al-Ahram newspaper quoted the interior minister as saying.

The public prosecutor issued the summons on Sunday as part of probes into the killing of protesters and the embezzlement of public funds, but the ousted president said allegations of wrongdoing levelled against him were lies.

	Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak rubs his eyes, March 5, 2004.
	Photo by: Reuters

The minister, Mansour el-Essawy, said Mubarak would give testimony on accusations directed against him at a court on the eastern outskirts of Cairo, Al-Ahram reported, without saying when he would appear or what the accusations were.

Essawy said he did not know what Mubarak's reply to the summons had been, the newspaper said on Tuesday.

Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal have also been summoned for questioning.

Several countries froze assets of Mubarak's family and some of their associates after he was forced from office by a wave of public uprising and dissent at corruption among the political elite.

Mubarak has been staying at his residence in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since he was toppled from power on Feb. 11, and he and his family have been banned from travelling while state prosecutors investigate complaints against them.

Justice Minister Mohamed al-Guindy said an Egyptian delegation would travel to a number of foreign countries within days seeking to make an inventory of Mubarak's assets abroad, al-Ahram said.

The minister said Mubarak had agreed to provide to investigators a power of attorney over his bank accounts and assets.