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| Mubarak |
Mubarak’s two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were also detained for questioning and taken to Cairo’s Torah prison, where a string of former top regime figures — including the former prime minister, head of the ruling party and Mubarak’s chief of staff — are already languishing, facing similar investigations on corruption.
PUBLIC PRESSURE
The move reflected the enormous pressure from the public on the ruling military, which was handed power when Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11. On Friday last week, tens of thousands protested in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square demanding Mubarak and his family be put on trial, and many in the crowds accused the military of protecting the former president.
The detention came hours after the 82-year-old Mubarak was hospitalized on Tuesday evening with heart problems in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort where he and his family have been living since his fall from power.
Early yesterday, the prosecutor announced that Mubarak was ordered to be put under detention for 15 days for investigation. He was to be flown later in the day to a military hospital outside Cairo, where he would remain in detention, a security official in Sharm el-Sheikh said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Protesters had pushed hard for Mubarak’s prosecution, demanding what they called a clear signal that the corruption that pervaded his nearly 30-year rule would be definitively broken. Public outrage was widespread over allegations that large fortunes were skimmed off by top regime officials through shady deals over the years.
Beyond the anger has been the fear that Mubarak cronies are maneuvering to regain power as the country tries to work out democratic rule and that the ruling military was not taking action to prevent them, or was even abetting them.
‘HAPPY’
“I was so happy in the morning when I heard the news,” said Ahmed Maher, co-founder of the April 6 group, one of the movements that led the unprecedented 18-day protest movement against Mubarak.
“All people are very happy because this step reassured them after a period of doubts and stagnation,” referring to doubts over the military’s intentions, he said.
Worries over the military were intensified by a fierce pre-dawn raid on protesters in Tahrir Square on Saturday that killed at least one person.
Still, he said, Egypt faces a long road to ensure the transition period leads to real democracy.
“Trying Mubarak and his regime is very important, but what is super important is the political future of Egypt and what kind of political system we want to have,” he said.
