Egypt’s state prosecutor on Tuesday renewed the detention of ousted president Hosni Mubarak for another 15 days amid a probe into the killing of protesters and corruption, his office said in a statement. Abdel Maguid Mahmud “has ordered the preventative detention of former president Hosni Mubarak for 15 days that will begin when his current detention ends,” on May 12, according to the statement.
The decision to extend the detention came after a team of investigators from the prosecutor’s office questioning Mubarak again in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he is currently under arrest. It is the second time Mubarak’s detention is extended. Sources at the public prosecutor’s office told AFP that a decision on whether or not to put Mubarak on trial would be announced in the coming days.
The former president was hospitalised on April 12 after suffering a heart attack and was put under preventative detention the following day, two months after he was overthrown by a popular uprising. He is being held in connection with ordering the shooting of protesters during the anti-regime rallies that kicked off on January 25. He is also being questioned on corruption charges.
