Egypt: New law to protect officials from prosecution

The interim president Adly Mansour has issued a decree that will make it more difficult for third parties to challenge contracts signed with the government. It would make impossible the kind of challenge that led to the prosecution of ministers from the Mubarak era and other senior officials for selling off state property cheaply to developers in exchange for favours.

The government says the new protections are aimed at encouraging foreign investment.  The review of contracts immediately after the fall of the Mubarak regime led to uncertainty among investors, especially from the Gulf who had invested in real estate developments. The lack of security for investments did much to dampen enthusiasm for more investment.

Critics say it marks a return to the old ways and that officials will be able to act corruptly with impunity.  Abdullah Bin Mahfouz, Chairman of the Saudi Egyptian Business Council, welcomed the new law: "I'm sure that due to this law we will see an inflow of investment no less than US$15 billion in the next three years because there are huge opportunities in steel and mining and factories that are considered the biggest in the Middle East."

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.
© 2014 Menas Associates

Egypt: Mubarak fortune

 

In a bid to prevent any relaxation of the detention orders on the former president and members of his family, Mahmoud al-Hefnawy from the prosecutor general's technical office has said that the Mubarak family amassed a LE9 billion fortune during the former president's 30-year rule. Hefnawy said that evidence from the Administrative Control Authority, the Illicit Gains Authority and the Central Auditing Organisation all showed that Mubarak, his wife Susan Thabet, his sons Alaa and Gamal and their wives Heidi Rasekh and Khadiga al-Gammal all benefited financially from office.

He said that the figure included LE3 billion in cash, LE5 billion in stocks and shares and LE1 billion in real estate.

 

Hefnawy also submitted a Central Auditing Organisation report which states that five villas owned by the Mubaraks in Sharm El-Sheikh were paid for in full by a company owned by fugitive businessman Hussein Salem.

 

There was better fortune from the courts for one of Mubarak's last prime ministers, Ahmed Nazif. The Public Funds Prosecution ordered his release from charges of obtaining illegal gifts under the former regime. Al-Ahram reported that Nazif submitted documents to the prosecution proving that he had returned the money - about LE58,000 - to the state. However, he still faces other charges of making illicit gains from his position.

 

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

 

© 2013 Menas Associates

Egypt's military council under scrutiny

Every military mission has as its cardinal principles: defining the objective, achieving the objective and securing an exit. No military mission should be attempted without an exit strategy. The alternative is mission creep.

The most benign interpretation of the military's actions over the past 18 months is that the army intervened to establish some kind of order with the intention of withdrawing to barracks once it could hand over to a duly-constituted civilian authority.

The army's actions over the past week put that interpretation under considerable strain. The catalyst for the army's change of tack was the rulings of the Supreme Constitutional Court to dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated parliament and to permit the man that the former regime had identified as a potential future president to stand against the Brotherhood's candidate. Critics were quick to point out that the judges in the court were Hosni Mubarak appointees. This is only partly true. All were appointed under Mubarak: what institution did not have its senior members appointed over the past 30 years that Mubarak ruled? But only the head of the court was actually appointed by him. Furthermore, the court has a reputation for quirkiness and had by no means always ruled in favour of the political powers that be.

The generous interpretation of the army's actions is that Constitutional Court rulings created a political vacuum which the army felt bound to fill.

Few support this view. They note that whatever the army might have said over the past 18 months, it has done little to re-assure citizens that it understands that the rules of the political game, the relationship between people and power, have fundamentally changed in Egypt as it has in other parts of the Arab world. They see an army, ostrich-like, reverting to default mode. It imposed limits on the media, sent 12,000 to military courts, was itself engaged in abuses, killed mainly Coptic demonstrators last October and held no one to account. The army has asked people to trust them. They have done little to earn that trust. The political transition has been a shambles, with its stentorian constitutional declarations and its swift appointment of an army general to guide whoever is elected president on economic matters. It is clear that whatever the army's original intentions, its most recent actions suggest an organisation unwilling or unable to delegate or to trust whoever might be elected by popular vote to rule.

Many felt that the Muslim Brotherhood was not politically mature enough to exercise power. Others that a time in power would expose the organisation to the compromises all those in that position have to make. But the army's actions have now left a Muslim Brotherhood bruised and resentful that the prize has been snatched from its grasp. The leadership has said it wants no violent confrontation with the army. Who knows what different approach some within the grassroots might take?

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Former Mubarak aide jailed for corruption

On Sunday 27 May, a criminal court convicted one of former president Hosni Mubarak's aides of corruption, fining Zakaria Azmi £3.8million and sentencing him to seven years in prison.

Azmi was Mubarak's chief of staff. Mubarak, who spent 29 years in power, was rarely seen in public without him. Azmi was also a lawmaker and a senior member of Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).

Azmi, who is in his 70s, reportedly supported Mubarak's wish to eventually hand over-power to his youngest son Gamal.

According to Egypt's Middle East News Agency, the Cairo court established that Azmi used his position to make illicit gains of $7 million. Azmi was jailed last year and put on trial in October, charged with illegal acquisition of funds.

He is one of many former Mubarak cronies detained on suspicion of corruption, some of whom have been sentence while others await trial. The group includes two former prime ministers, the former speaker of parliament, several wealthy businessmen and cabinet ministers closely linked to Gamal.

The verdict against Azmi came less than a week before a court was due to issue its verdict in the trial of Mubarak, who faced charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the popular uprising that toppled his regime last year. Mubarak, along with Gamal and his other son, Alaa, also faced corruption charges.

If convicted the former long-term leader could face the death penalty.

Sources: BBC News, Aljazeera, CTV

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Spain to handover Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem

According to a number of sources, Egypt has accepted Spain's conditions for the extradition of businessman -and former friend of Hosni Mubarak - Hussein Salem. The Egyptian authorities have promised Salem a fair trial, clearing the way for his handover.

Spain ordered Salem's extradition last month. Following his arrest in June on suspicion of money laundering and corruption, police froze €32.5 million in his bank accounts and properties worth €10 million.

The funds were allegedly obtained illegally in Egypt and sent to Salem's accounts in Spain through companies created by a Turkish "frontman". Salem is believed to have absconded on 3 February 2011, just over a week before Mubarak was forced to resign.

Salem was charged in Egypt with fraud in May, along with Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal. The outcome of the trial, which ended last month, is expected in June. Salem was detained in Spain in June 2011 with his son Khaled, and a Turkish businessman and associate Ali Evsen.

On 2 March 2012, Spain's National Court informed the Egyptian ambassador that it had "agreed to hand Hussein Salem and his son Khaled to Egypt". It is estimated that Salem has allegedly appropriated $714 million in public funds out of a deal to sell gas to Israel. It is thought that Mubarak allowed a company in which Salem was a major shareholder to buy gas from the government below market price, and then resold it to Israel at a substantial mark-up.

Sources: BBC News, AP, Reuters

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood names presidency candidate

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has nominated its deputy chairman, Khairat al-Shatir, as its candidate for the presidential elections in May. The announcement reverses a pledge made by the group earlier not to contest the election.

This development is likely to cause concern among certain factions as well as the army that the MB might monopolise power. According to BBC correspondents, the group's relations with the army have already deteriorated.

Speculation has been rife whether or not the group would back a candidate following its party's legislative election success in November. MB's political arm then won around a third of the vote, and nearly half the seats in the first parliamentary election since the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year.

Speaking about the decision the group's deputy leader said it had resolved to field a candidate following "attempts to abort the revolution". There are only several days left before the close of nominations.

Al-Shatir spent 12 years behind bars due to his association with the MB, but managed to upkeep a multimillion-dollar business empire and his dedication to political Islam. Since his release last year, al-Shatir's influence has only increased to rival that of MB's general guide.

The MB released a statement saying it had reversed its decision not to contest the presidency to overcome risks to Egypt's revolution and the transfer from military to civilian rule.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, Bloomberg

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt gas pipeline attacked, again

The main gas pipeline carrying supplies from Egypt to Jordan and Israel has been attacked again. The two explosions occurred near the town of Al-Arish in the north of the Sinai desert.

According to witnesses, the blasts ripped through the area, sending flames high into the air.

There have been many such attacks on the pipelines in the Sinai, following the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak. According to locals, the two explosions occurred close together after six men were seen in an unmarked vehicle.

The area has been subject to growing unrest, due to tensions with heavily armed Bedouin tribes who reside there.

According to Egyptian officials, there have been at least 12 attacks on pipelines since Mubarak was ousted in February 2011.

The pipeline only reopened last week after it was shut down on 5 February following a similar explosion.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, WSJ

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak's trial resumes

Following the reopening of former president Hosni Mubarak's trial in Cairo, his defence team began arguing the case. Mubarak stands accused of ordering the killing of demonstrators during national unrest, which led to his resignation last year.

According to Egypt's State media, the defence's arguments are expected to be heard over the course of three days.

Prosecutors insist Mubarak face the death penalty, along with his co-defendants, the former interior minister Minister Habib al-Adly and six senior policemen. Mubarak's two sons, Gamal and Alaa, are facing separate charges of corruption in the same trial.

The former Egyptian ruler was wheeled into court on a stretcher. His laywers said Mubarak was unable to be upright for fear of suffering a stroke.

The charges against the defendant are as follow:

Hosni Mubarak: Conspiring in killing of protesters (15 years in prison or death penalty); abusing power to amass wealth (5-15 years)
Alaa and Gamal: abusing power to amass wealth (5-15 years)
Al-Adly and six police officials: conspiring in killing of protesters (15 years or death penalty)
Business mogul Hussein Salem: tried in absentia for corruption (5-15 years in prison).

According to a number of Egyptian sources, Mubarak's lawyer Farid al-Deeb is expected to reveal several surprises as he makes his case; however, he refused to elaborate when speaking to Al-Madry Al-Youm newspaper. He said: "Nobody knows what I will say."

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, AP

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt: Mubarak trials resume

The trials of Hosni Mubarak and his family, as well as some of his cronies, have resumed amid moves to accelerate the process. There has been much resentment at the way the trials have been stretched out, leading to suspicions that senior members of the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF) hope that Mubarak will die before he can be found guilty.

The prosecutors are showing some determination, and this week accused Mubarak of being a corrupt tyrant who had devoted his last ten years in office trying to ensure that his son Gamal succeeded him. They said that he had ordered the killing of protesters when the demonstrations broke out early last year and have announced that they seeking the death sentence.

AFP reports prosecutor Mustafa Khater as saying: “The law foresees the death penalty for premeditated murder.” Given the severity of the charges, seeking the death penalty was always a possibility, but many Egyptians will be shocked to hear the demand put so bluntly for the first time in the trial.

Earlier, both head of SCAF, Mohamed HusseinTantawi, and ex-head of intelligence, Omar Sulaiman, had testified that Mubarak had not ordered security forces to open fire on demonstrators in early 2011 (860 died).

Although there is a popular belief that the Mubaraks salted away billions of dollars, the prosecution said that Alaa and Gamal had illegal assets of rather less: US$340 million.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

Former NDP members will be allowed to run in parliamentary elections

Egypt's Higher Administrative Court has ruled that members of the now-dissolved ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) will be able to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The elections are expected to take place in November, and will be the first in decades following former president Hosni Mubarak's departure in February.

Many former members of the Mubarak regime have already joined other parties and registered to run as independents. The decision to overturn Friday's ruling by a court in the northern Nile Delta city of Mansoura was anticipated. The second ruling set off a number of lawsuits across Egypt aimed at preventing former NDP members from standing in the elections.

Anti-government groups have been fighting to ensure that those they see as associated with Mubarak's 30 year rule are kept out of politics. Mubarak and many of his cronies are currently on trial or in prison on corruption charges and ordering the shooting of protesters during the uprising.

The vote, commencing on 28th November, is expected to elect an assembly which will appoint a committee to write a new constitution.

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

SCAF defends its tactics in Copt protest crackdown

Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has denied that the army opened fire on protesters during Sunday's clashes between Copts and troops in Cairo. SCAF also denied that the army drove military vehicles into crowds, and showed footage of an armoured personnel carrier swerving around protesters.

It is estimated that around 25 people died during the clashes, the most violent since the fall of former president Hosni Mubarak in February. The confrontations ensued when Copts took to the streets in protest over an attack on a church in southern Egypt. It is not yet clear how many people of those killed were Copts but according to Egyptian officials three soldiers were among the dead. Many others were injured.

A member of SCAF Gen Mahmoud Hegazy said: "The armed forces would never and have never opened fire on the people.” Speaking about the video footage of an army vehicle from the scene of the clashes, he stressed that "there has not been a case of rolling over people with vehicles". Hegazy added: “They are trying to avoid running into protesters, not rolling over them." He also pointed out that the video proved that soldiers were being attacked by protesters armed with guns and rocks.

The handling of Sunday's unrest has resulted in a lot criticism directed at the army. The Copts, who make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 85 million population, have a number of grievances against the interim administration, namely that it is not doing enough to protect them.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, WSJ

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Clashes in Egypt leave 24 dead

Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has called for peace after 24 people were killed during clashes between Coptic Christians and security forces, which escalated into riots.

The confrontations occurred in Cairo after an attack on a church in Aswan province last week. It is reported that Muslims joined in the clashed, fighting for both sides.

Sharaf called an emergency cabinet meeting today. There is immense pressure on ministers and on the country's military rulers to give assurances about national harmony. Sharaf said discord between Muslims and Christians in Egypt was "a threat to the country's security".

Sharaf toured the area where the clashes transpired and later in a televised address said: “The most serious threat to the country's security is tampering with national unity, and the stirring of discord between Muslim and Christian sons of Egypt."

He added that violence of this nature, the worst since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, was "tampering with the relationship between the people and the army".

Egyptian TV showed footage of protesters clashing with security forces as army vehicles burned outside the state TV building where protesters had originally planned a sit-in. There were also reports that vehicles were burning outside the Coptic hospital, where many of the wounded were taken.

Sectarian tensions have increased in recent months. The Copts, who make up about 10 per cent of the population, accuse the military of being too tolerant of religiously prompted attacks.

Thousands of people both Christian and Muslim joined the initial march from the Shubra district of northern Cairo to the state TV building in Maspero Square. They were calling on the military council to sack the governor of Aswan province.

The violence erupted outside the state TV building but soon spread to Tahrir Square, where the demonstrations against Mubarak's regime began. According to a number of reports thousands took to the streets hurling stones at one another. It is thought that Muslims joined in the protests to defend Christians who were being attacked by men in plain clothes who are thought to have been security officials.

Some people have been calling for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to hand over power and for its chairman Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi to resign.

Egypt's health ministry said that at least 24 people had been killed and 212 had been wounded in the violence. Ministry spokesman Hisham Shiha told the BBC that of them at least 86 were security forces.

Sources: BBC News, The Independent, Reuters

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Mubarak trial to resume amid riots

The trial of former president Hosni Mubarak and his sons is due to resume amid minor riots among pro Mubarak supporters and those who ousted him. Mubarak stands accused of ordering the killing of protesters during the revolution earlier this year, which ended his three decade long rule. The former president denies all the charges.

Riots have broken out outside the court as the two sides – the pro Mubarak supporters and the revolutionaries – anticipate the commencement of the trial. Security officials are keeping the two sides apart in order to prevent the violence from escalating, but the division between the sides is palpable as some people are chanting in favour of the former president while others are calling for the death penalty.

The third hearing in the trial that began on 3rd August will not be broadcast around the country as Judge Ahmed Refaat has banned TV cameras from the court. It is thought that the judge was exasperated by the lawyers showing off for the benefit of television.

Some spectators say that the decision will make the work of the court easier, but anti Mubarak opponents suggest the decision may have been prompted by the fact that the court has struck a deal with the defendants.

Egypt's official daily newspaper Al Ahram, said four police officers responsible for operations in the central security force under Mubarak would take the stand today. The list includes head of communications Gen Hussein Saeed Mohamed Mursi.

The trial of Mubarak, and his sons Gamal and Alaa, has been merged with that of former interior minister Habib al-Adly, also accused of ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, Bloomberg

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Mubarak's trial adjured until October

The judge hearing the appeal against the fines imposed on the former president Hosni Mubarak, his prime minister and his interior minister for cutting communications links in Egypt has adjourned the case until 3rd October. That should give him time to unearth who took part in the meeting that made the decision. Was defence minister and head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ( SCAF ) Hussein Tantawi there? The army says he did not make the decision.

It does not really matter. The army was part of the old regime. It was its mainstay. When it saw that its position was under threat from the popular uprising, it sought to jettison the president so that it could remain unscathed. It was part of the old system. And it has played the pivotal role in shepherding in the new, as yet undetermined, system.

No one thinks that the army was blameless. The key will be what role it continues to play in future.

There is already great concern among liberal circles at the apparent closeness between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood. They certainly share common views on the need for an orderly transition, without introducing so-called supra-constitutional articles. What has not been established is the extent of any co-ordination between these two disciplined bodies.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak's trial is an extraordinary event

Hosni Mubarak's trial is an extraordinary event in the modern history of Egypt and the Arab world. There are no parallels or precedents of a deposed leader being tried by his own people in such a way. In a region where the rule of law has been so absent and those in authority are not held to account, this is a breathtaking development.

It is also uncertain. Many in the military must have considerable misgivings about what is happening to their former commander in chief. They must also be watching proceedings with a sense of foreboding about what might emerge in the course of the trial.

And many outside the chattering classes in Cairo will also view the public humiliation of their leader with considerable anger. For many in the rural heartlands, not only was Mubarak their leader but also their guarantor of a degree of stability that is now gone.

The trial of the former president is about coming to terms with Egypt's past, or some episodes from it. The demonstrations on 29th July were altogether different and were a sign, an ominous one in the view of many secularists and liberals, of the possible future character of the state.

The early protests that concluded with the removal of the former president were led by youth movements. But it is the Islamists who have the organisational strength and ideological unity — despite some differences — to make a serious challenge for power in the new Egypt.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Egypt: Opposition supporters have vowed to continue protesting

Following two days of violent clashes, Egyptian opposition supporters have vowed to continue protesting. According to the country's Health Ministry, several hundred people were injured during confrontations with the army and groups of unidentified men in civilian clothes.

The protesters have continued demonstrating since Hosni Mubarak stepped down in February, about the slow pace of political and social change. Speculation is rife that the clashes were orchestrated by the military but the army continues to deny any such doing.

Some of the demonstrators have already returned to Tahrir Square in the centre of Cairo, despite being heavily injured. Most incurred injury when unidentified men in plain clothes attacked marches from the square to the defence ministry, where the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) is based.

The protesters continue to be defiant, and the clashes last week mark a new turning point in the confrontation between the opposition and SCAF, who continues to have trouble appealing to ordinary Egyptians.

Sources: BBC News, Reuters, Bloomberg

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Part of Sinai pipeline sabotaged again

For the third time since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February, on 4th July saboteurs blew up part of the gas pipeline in northern Sinai which takes gas from Egypt to Jordan and Israel.

The pipeline feeds into two export pipelines which bifurcate at el-Arish. One goes to Ashkelon and delivers up 2.4 billion cubic metres a year of gas to Israel. The other, the Arab Gas Pipeline, goes south and delivers up to 4.5 bcm a year to Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

The explosion was at a pumping station at Nagah in Bir Abdu, 60km east of Suez. According to security sources quoted in the media, a group of armed men forced the staff at the station to leave before blowing it up. Ampal-American Israel Corporation, which has a 12.5 per cent stake in East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), operator of the Arish-Ashkelon pipeline, said the explosion occurred at the point where the two pipelines diverge.

The damage was quickly repaired and gas supplies resumed to Israel within two days, albeit at a reduced rate, according to Ampal. After the previous explosion on 27th April, gas flows did not resume until early June. Not so, according to Egypt. Al Masry Al Youm quoted an official from the Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO), the company responsible for exporting natural gas to Israel, as denying that gas exports to Israel had resumed.

GASCO chief Magdy Tawfiq said that repair work was still underway. He explained that the company shut off valves to stop the flow of gas while residual gas was drawn out of the pipe to empty it. He expected the repairs to be completed shortly as damage was limited.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Egypt: More than a 1000 injured in violent clashes

Over a 1000 people were injured in the most violent clashes between police and demonstrators since the 18 days of protests that led to the fall of the former president Hosni Mubarak on 11th February.

A major rally was being planned for 8th July. But these protests snowballed from a demonstration demanding justice for the martyrs, i.e., the speedy trial of police officers accused of killing more than 800 people in the attempted suppression of protests in those 18 days in January and February. The demonstrations became a focal point for the general frustrations of many at the slow pace of reform.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors who attacked them with stones in Tahrir Square on 28th and 29th June. There had been other clashes at the Balloon Theatre in Agouza. Protestors called for officials accused of serious crimes to be tried without delay. Some also called for Field Marshal Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces currently ruling Egypt, to step down.

These were the first violent clashes in Tahrir Square for some weeks. Protestors were met by riot police with full gear and water cannon. One blogger said the police had invoked one of the protest movement's own slogans when they used a loudhailer to tell the crowd “You say, selmiyya [peaceful], well keep it selmiyya”. It was anything but selmiyya.

The army council said in a statement on its Facebook page that “the regrettable events that have been taking place at Tahrir Square have no justification except to undermine stability and security in Egypt according to a calculated and coordinated plan in which the blood of the revolution's martyrs is used to cause a wedge between the revolutionaries and the security apparatus in Egypt to achieve these goals.

"We urge the great Egyptian people and the young people who launched the revolution not to be carried away by such claims, work on resisting and aborting them to maintain Egypt's security and safety in such difficult circumstances."

Its reaction showed how little it understands the frustration of those who want rapid reform.

The demonstrations in Tahrir Square followed clashes nearby outside the TV building at Maspero after the adjournment of the trial on 26th June of the former interior minister Habib ElAdly. He faces the death penalty if convicted of charges of ordering state security forces under his command to use live fire to crush the protests of January and February. The families of some of those killed hurled stones at police and military vehicles in frustration after the court adjourned the minister's trial.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

© 2011 Menas Associates

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak's wife to hand-over $3 million worth of assets

The wife of ousted Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, has agreed to hand-over $3 million worth of assets to the State following an investigation over corruption charges. Suzanne Mubarak has reportedly agreed to give-up funds held in various bank accounts and a villa in Cairo.

The Mubarak family is under investigation for corruption and illegal acquisition of wealth during Hosni Mubarak's 30 year reign. The former president, who stepped down on 11th February, has also been accused of ordering the killings of anti-government protesters.

On Monday 16th May, the former first lady, aged 70, promised to hand-over both the money and the villa to the authorities. According to expert lawyer, Nasser Amin, by relinquishing her claims, she would be benefit from articles in the Egyptian law which allow those accused of making illegal gains to give them up in exchange for dropping the investigation.

Amin said: “The decision may not be accepted by society, who after a revolution, side with the idea of revenge. But from the legal point of view, this is in line.”

Both Hosni Mubarak and his wife are currently under detention in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. The former first lady is recovering from a "panic attack", which she suffered after being detained.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, Reuters Africa, RIA Novosti

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Egypt's former tourism minister sentenced to five years in prison

Egypt's former tourism minister, Zoheir Garranah, has been sentenced to five years in prison for squandering public funds. The country's criminal court also issued Garranah with a fine after finding the official guilty of allotting tourism licenses illegally.

Garranah is the second official to be given time in prison. The first, former interior minister Habib Al-Adli, was sentenced last week to 12 years after being found guilty for money laundering and profiteering.

News of the sentencing comes amid ongoing investigations of former government officials who had served under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

Last week, Egyptian authorities announced that Mubarak himself would face the death penalty if found guilty of ordering the shooting of protesters during the uprisings that brought him down. It is estimated that at least 800 protesters were killed during the demonstrations which led to Mubarak's resignation on 11th February.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, Ha'aretz, Voice of America

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.