Mubarak and sons put under 15-day detention

Hosni Mubarak Hosni Mubarak was ordered to be detained for 15 days Wednesday, winning the ruling army generals a respite from protesters suspicious that they were shielding their former commander from investigation.
His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, have also been detained and questioned as part of the probe, state television said. Mubarak and his two sons will appear before a Cairo court on April 19 for questioning, it said.
Later Wednesday, prosecutors announced that former Speaker Fathi Surour was ordered detained for 15 days for investigation into allegations of amassing wealth and misuse of power.
Mubarak, driven from presidential office on Feb. 11 by mass demonstrations against his 30-year rule, was taken to the intensive care unit of a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh Tuesday with what state media called a “heart crisis” after questioning by investigators.
Reports differed on how serious the illness was. A doctor appointed by the judiciary was examining Mubarak to see if he could be moved to another hospital, a medical source said.
“The doctor’s check-up is part of the judicial process to determine where to question Mubarak,” the source said.
The public prosecutor had summoned and questioned Mubarak, 82, over the killing of protesters, embezzling of public funds and abuse of power. More than 380 protesters were killed in 18 days of demonstrations that led to Mubarak’s downfall.
“Former President Hosni Mubarak was detained for 15 days for investigation,” state television reported in a brief headline. Judicial sources confirmed the report.
In his first public comment since stepping down, broadcast on Al-Arabiya Sunday, the now ailing Mubarak denied any wrongdoing.
A security source told Reuters he was likely to remain for security reasons in detention in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort where he has been in internal exile since quitting.
A source cited by the official news agency MENA said the former president would be moved from the hospital to a place of detention once his health permits, but the site had yet to be determined.
Al-Jazeera television reported earlier that an army helicopter had arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh to take him to Cairo. A security source told Reuters “the helicopter has left without him because his health is unstable.”
Half a dozen dark blue state security trucks were parked outside the hospital Wednesday and roads leading to the building were blocked off by state security, witnesses said.
Mubarak’s sons were taken to taken to Cairo’s Torah prison, where a string of former top regime figures are already languishing, facing similar investigations on corruption.
MENA said Gamal, once seen as his father’s anointed heir, and his elder brother were handed white prison uniforms, blankets and mattresses after they surrendered their cell phones. They turned down breakfast and appeared to be in shock.
An angry crowd of 2,000 people had gathered outside the hospital late Tuesday, demanding the sons’ arrest. Then, in the early hours Wednesday, head of provincial security in the South Sinai told them that Gamal and Alaa would be detained.
“Brothers, whatever you wanted, you have got … 15 days,” said Maj. Gen. Mohammad al-Khatib, as the crowd erupted in cheers.
As a police van with drawn curtains took away the brothers, the crowd pelted it with water bottles, stones and their flip-flops. “We want our money. We want the thief to be tried,” chanted dozens of people near the hospital.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians protested Friday in Cairo’s Tahrir Square against delays in trying Mubarak and criticized Field Marshal Mohammad Hussein Tantawi, the army council head who was Mubarak’s defense minister for 20 years.
“The military council moved fast because of the pressure protesters have built up in Tahrir. In the past weeks there has been real criticism of Tantawi and the military council that they are slow and looking after Mubarak as their commander,” said Shadi Ghazali Harb, an organizer with the Youth of the January 25 Revolution group.He said plans for a protest this Friday were on hold to see how swiftly the army and prosecutor moved toward a trial.
“I was so happy in the morning when I heard the news,” said Ahmad Maher, co-founder of the April 6 group, one of the youth movements that led the uprising.
“All people are very happy because this step reassured them after a period of doubts and stagnation,” he told the Associated Press, referring to doubts over the military’s intentions. Worries over the military were intensified by a fierce pre-dawn raid on protesters in Tahrir 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.
Soon after Mubarak’s hospitalization Tuesday night and in a sign that his ailment might not be very serious, Justice Minister Mohammad al-Guindi said Mubarak was then questioned in his suite for his role in the violence against protesters. The ministry statement on Facebook said Wednesday Mubarak’s lawyers and a medical team were present during the interrogation. Mubarak has a history of minor ailments and underwent gallbladder surgery in Germany in March last year.