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.

Arutz Sheva

Report: Mubarak Suffers Heart Attack Under Questioning

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

Israel news photo: Flash 90

04/13/11, 11:02 AM / Last Update: 04/13/11, 1:08 PM

by David Lev

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons are under arrest – with the senior Mubarak handcuffed to a hospital bed, after he reportedly suffered a heart attack during questioning by the country's new government.

In a statement, the Egyptian prosecutor general’s office said Wednesday that “the public prosecutor has ordered the detention of former president Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and his two sons Alaa and Gamal Mubarak for 15 days pending investigation after the public prosecutor presented them with the current state of its ongoing investigation of charges and submitted the detention decision to the relevant police authority.”

Mubarak and his sons were detained in the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where they took refuge after Hosni Mubarak resigned as Egyptian president on February 11. The arrests came after reports last week that Mubarak may have stolen hundreds of billions of dollars over the years from the Egyptian treasury, squirreling it away in private bank accounts around the world. Questioning centered on the money, as well as “on the crimes of assault against protesters, leading to deaths and injuries,” the government said in a statement.

According to reports, Mubarak, 82, keeled over during questioning Tuesday, and was rushed to a nearby hospital. The reports said that Mubarak suffered a “heart event,” but was apparently not too sick to answer questions, as his interrogation resumed – under medical supervision. He reportedly requested permission to fly to Germany and be treated by doctors familiar with his situation there, but was refused by authorities. Press reports said that Mubarak refused to eat and drink on Tuesday after he learned he was to be questioned.

Mubarak has denied the accusations that he stole money from the treasury, appearing in a video broadcast on the Al-Arabiya network proclaiming his innocence, saying that the stories about the missing billions were part of a “smear campaign” against him. However, most Egyptians believe that he is indeed guilty, and when word spread Tuesday that it was Mubarak who was being taken to the hospital in the ambulance that set out from police headquarters, dozens of people spontaneously gathered and began hurling rocks and debris at the vehicle, witnesses said.

On Wednesday, numerous reports in the Egyptian media said that Mubarak had just been pretending to be sick in order to get out of questioning – in the hope that he will be allowed to leave the country under the guise of seeking medical treatment, and thus avoid justice. Mubarak, for his part, said last week he would cooperate with any investigation, and that he was innocent of all charges.

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

ADL: Mammoth Arab Anti-Semitic Reaction to Goldstone Op-Ed

by Chana Ya'ar

The Arab world has reacted with vicious anti-Semitism to retired Judge Richard Goldstone's change of heart about his report to the United Nations on Israel's 3-week counter terrorism war against the Hamas rulers of Gaza two years ago.

Goldstone wrote an op-ed piece on April 2 in the Washington Post in which he retracted his accusations that Israel had deliberately targeted the civilian population of Gaza.

Israel welcomed the change of heart, but asked Goldstone to go further and issue an official retraction of his report, which he did not do.

Leaders of the Arab world and Hamas terrorists, meanwhile, slammed the piece. A post on the website of the New York-based Anti-Defamation League gives examples of numerous anti-Semitic cartoons published in newspapers across the Middle East.

Some show Goldstone being bribed with “gold” by an Israeli soldier. Others feature Jews with stereotyped features such as a beard and a hat controlling the judge.

Al-Watan, April 7 - Saudi Arabia

Filastin, April 5 - Gaza (headline: Palestinian Condemnation of Goldstone's retraction)

Ad-Dustur, April 5 - Jordan

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Mubarak placed in detention for 15 days

A protester wearing a mask of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stands with handcuffs inside a makeshift prison cell at Cairo's Tahrir Square on April 8. Mubarak has been placed in detention for 15 days, prosecutors said Wednesday, after state media reported his two sons had also been detained as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters.

AFP - Egypt's ex-president Hosni Mubarak has been placed in detention for 15 days, prosecutors said Wednesday, after state media reported his two sons had also been detained as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters.

In a statement on the public prosecutor's Facebook page, a spokesman said the prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud authorised the detentions "as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters during the unrest in January and February."

Earlier state television said Mubarak's sons Gamal and Alaa have been placed in detention accused of incitement to fire at demonstrators during the revolution that lasted from January 25 till February 11 when their father reluctantly stepped down.

Nearly 800 people died during the uprising.

Rebel-held Misrata under siege from Gaddafi forces

As foreign ministers meet in Doha to discuss how the international community should respond to the conflict in Libya, FRANCE 24 reports from rebel-held Misrata, a town holding out after weeks of attacks by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

By Alexandra RENARD / Matthieu MABIN report from Misrata, Libya (video)
FRANCE 24 (text)

In rebel-held Misrata in western Libya, FRANCE 24 correspondents report on the daily attacks that have reduced much of the centre of the city to bullet-riddled rubble.

Misrata is the third-largest in Libya with a population of 550,000, has been under constant attack for the past five weeks.

FRANCE 24’s Alexandra Renard and Mathieu Mabin, reporting from the besieged city, say rebels holding out in the city's old town.

“They came yesterday and tried to remove the barricades from the street," one fighter told FRANCE 24. "But we destroyed their tanks with rocket launchers and killed several men.”

Lying on the ground around the barricades, the dead bodies of soldiers loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi testify to the intensity of the fighting.

Rights groups and residents say that the weeks of heavy fighting has resulted in dozens killed while food, water and medical supplies are becoming scarce.

LIBYA Obsolete and inept, yet Gaddafi’s forces hang on

Criticism of NATO

Ahead of a Libyan contact group meeting of foreign ministers in Qatar on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said NATO was not doing enough to protect civilians from Gaddafi’s forces.

“NATO must fully play its role, and it is not doing so sufficiently,” Juppé told France Info radio on Tuesday.

The meeting takes place amid continued bloodshed in Libya and especially in Misrata, the only town in western Libya where the rebel forces still have a foothold.

NATO rejected France’s criticism on Tuesday, saying its forces had destroyed four of Gaddafi’s tanks near the southern rebel-held town of Zintan, while British jets patrolling near Misrata had fired missiles and destroyed one tank.

‘Contact group’

The Libyan contact group is made up of European powers, allies from the Middle East and North America, and international organisations including NATO. Envoys from the African Union – which has tried to broker a ceasefire that was rejected by the rebels, who are seeking Gaddafi's ouster – will also attend.

The group will hear from leaders of the pro-democracy movement in the country and Libya’s former foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, who defected to the UK last month, is expected to attend.

According to British Foreign Minister William Hague, the group will discuss how to “maintain the international unity while bringing together a wide range of nations in support of a better future for Libya”.