Egypt detains former president and sons

Hosni Mubarak Egypt's prosecutor general has announced a 15-day detention for the country's former president to investigate accusations of corruption and abuse

of authority. The Facebook page of the prosecutor general's office posted a statement early Wednesday announcing the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak, as well as that of his sons.
The page was set up as an outreach from the Justice Ministry to the families of those killed and injured during the 18 days of protests that ousted Mubarak in mid-February.
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. Mubarak was hospitalised on Tuesday with heart problems
Egyptian prosecutors ordered the detention of the former president's powerful sons for 15 days allegations of corruption and the abuse of their authority are investigated, state television said early Wednesday.
The move, the most dramatic in a series of investigations against top regime officials, comes just hours after former President Hosni Mubarak, 82, was hospitalised with heart problems as he too was to be questioned by prosecutors.
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 18 days of popular protests brought down the regime on February 11.
While the former president was in the hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Shaikh 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.
Then, 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 Major General Mohammad Al Khatib, as the crowd erupted in cheers.
As a police van with drawn curtains 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.
The increasing role of Gamal Mubarak in the government over the last decade and the belief that he might succeed his father helped galvanise Egypt's protest movement.
At least 800 people are estimated to have been killed during the protests as police opened fire on the crowds. Authorities are now investigating government officials for their role in ordering the violence.
Gamal is also believed to be the architect of Egypt's privatisation programme and economic liberalisation, which has brought in billions in foreign investment but has also widened the gap between rich and poor.
Many of his close associates were billionaires and held top positions in the ruling party and the government. There are allegations that they used their positions for personal gain.
Mubarak himself has not been detained, but he was due to be questioned by prosecutors when he was admitted to the Sharm El Shaikh hospital Tuesday night complaining of heart problems.
In a sign that his ailment might not be very serious, however, Justice Minister Mohammad Al Guindi said he was then questioned in his hospital suite for his role in the violence against protesters.
The investigation into corruption charges would be carried out later by the Justice Ministry's anti-corruption department, he added.
The protest movement that deposed Mubarak is now pushing for him to be brought to justice for what they say are decades of abuse.
The protesters had criticised the army, which took over the country after the president was puched out, for being too close to the old regime and not swiftly bringing Mubarak to trial.
For four days protesters reoccupied parts of Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo and closed it off to traffic. Efforts by the army to evict them Saturday resulted in at least one death and dozens of injuries and raised tensions between the protesters and the country's military rulers. The investigations into Mubarak's sons are expected to mollify the opposition.
On Sunday, Mubarak defended himself in a prerecorded message saying he had not abused his authority, and investigators were welcome to check over his assets.
It was his first address to the people in the two months since he stepped down. Shortly after, the prosecutor general issued a summons for Mubarak to appear for questioning.
Here are some key facts about Hosni Mubarak:
Mubarak stepped down on February 11 after millions of Egyptians took to the streets to demand he end his 30-year rule. Since then he has been in internal exile in the Red Sea resort of Sharm Al Shaikh, where he spent increasingly large amounts of time during his last years in power.
The public prosecutor summoned Mubarak on Sunday as part of investigations into the killing of protesters and the embezzlement of public funds. In his first public comments since stepping down, broadcast by Al Arabiya on Sunday, Mubarak denied wrongdoing.
The former president suffered from health problems in recent years and went to Germany for gall bladder surgery in March 2010.
Mubarak was thrust into office when Islamists assassinated his predecessor Anwar Sadat at a military parade in 1981. The burly former air force commander proved a far more durable leader than anyone imagined at the time.
In power, Mubarak promoted Middle East peace and, from 2004, backed economic liberalisation measures that delivered sturdy growth but which many ordinary Egyptians blamed for widening the gap between rich and power.
He always kept a tight lid on political opposition and resisted significant political change, even under pressure from the United States, which has poured billions of dollars of military and other aid into Egypt since it became the first Arab state to make peace with Israel, signing a treaty in 1979.
Mubarak won the first and only multi-candidate presidential election in 2005, but the outcome was never in doubt and his main rival came a distant second. Rights groups and observers said the election was marred by irregularities, as were all elections during his years in powers.
 

From Gulfnews