CAIRO – Egypt’s ailing ex-president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons have been placed in detention for 15 days as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters, prosecutors said Wednesday. A statement on the public prosecutor’s Facebook page said chief prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmud authorised the detentions “as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters during the unrest in January and February.” Security officials said Mubarak was placed under detention in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he reportedly suffered a heart attack Tuesday during questioning by prosecutors.
Police said Mubarak’s two sons, Gamal and Alaa, arrived mid-morning at Tora prison complex in Cairo, home to other fallen officials and and some of country’s most notorious political prisoners. They are accused of incitement to fire at demonstrators during a popular uprising that lasted from January 25 till February 11 when Mubarak reluctantly stepped down. Nearly 800 people died during the uprising. Earlier, state television said the brothers were being detained for 15 days “for the needs of the inquiry” and had first been interrogated in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Videos posted on video-sharing site YouTube showed what appeared to be dozens of protesters outside a court complex where the Mubarak brothers were being questioned. The crowd demanded the two be transported to prison in a paddywagon, rather than a civilian car, and chanted: “The people demand the execution of the butcher.” The authenticity of the footage could not be immediately verified nor the exact location of the courthouse determined.
The inquiry had been ordered on Sunday by Mahmud as part of a sweeping probe into corruption and abuse. The Mubaraks were to be asked about allegations that they were “connected to the crimes of assault against protesters, leading to deaths and injuries”, the official MENA news agency said. Prosecutors had begun questioning Mubarak and his son Gamal 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.”
