Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Hosni Mubarak


Hosni Mubarak
FORMER Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's health deteriorated last night hours after he and his two sons were placed under 15-day detention in an inquiry into violence against protesters.
The official MENA news agency reported that the 82-year-old in police custody in a Red Sea resort hospital was in an "unstable" condition after suffering a heart attack while being questioned by prosecutors on Tuesday.
His two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were transferred late yesterday from Sharm el-Sheikh courthouse to a Cairo prison.
Mr Mubarak's "health condition is unstable, and he is under observation", Mena quoted a hospital source as saying.
In a statement on his Facebook page, chief prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmud said he authorised the detentions "as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters during the unrest in January and February".
MENA reported that security was beefed up in Mr Mubarak's room in the VIP wing of Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital and he would be taken to a cell once his condition allowed it. The daily Al-Ahram said Mr Mubarak had gone to hospital "under the pretext of being unwell in order to avoid facing questioning".
He arrived wearing a black and white tracksuit. Mr Mubarak had refused to eat or drink since being told on Tuesday morning that he was to be questioned and was admitted to the hospital by his bodyguards. The hospital was no longer admitting new patients except emergency cases and was surrounded by police cars and ambulances.
Gamal and Alaa Mubarak arrived mid-morning at Tora prison complex in Cairo, home to other fallen officials. Gamal, once seen as his father's heir, and his older brother were handed white prison uniforms, blankets and mattresses after they surrendered their mobile phones. They turned down breakfast and appeared to be in shock.
Before their departure from Sharm el-Sheikh, a crowd outside the courthouse demanded the two be transported to jail in a prison van, rather than a civilian car, and chanted: "The people demand the execution of the butcher".
They are accused of incitement to fire at demonstrators during the uprising that lasted from January 25 until February 11 when Mr Mubarak reluctantly stepped down. Nearly 800 people died during the uprising.
The brothers were being detained for 15 days "for the needs of the inquiry" and had first been interrogated in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The inquiry had been ordered on Sunday by Mr Mahmud as part of a sweeping probe into corruption and abuse.
Prosecutors had begun questioning Mr Mubarak and Gamal on Tuesday, Justice Minister Abdel Aziz al-Guindi said, adding that the grilling over acquiring wealth illegally had not yet started "as that will be handled by the department of illicit gains".
The prosecutor's summons came after the broadcast of a tape in which Mr Mubarak defended his reputation and after weeks of mounting protests calling for him to be put on trial. After he resigned, the Mubarak family moved to a residence in Sharm el-Sheikh. Although subject to a travel ban, the former president's relative freedom has been a thorn in the side of the military rulers.

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