Egypt: News
Longtime Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak could walk out of jail within days, court officials and his lawyer said Monday, injecting a volatile new element into the political crisis that has engulfed the world’s largest Arab country.
The former dictator, who was overthrown by a popular revolution in 2011, still faces charges in connection with the killing of hundreds of protesters in that Arab Spring revolt. But he has been granted bond in that case, and a judge on Monday said he should be able to leave prison as he awaits another trial on corruption charges
He remains behind bars only because of a third case, also relating to corruption, and Mubarak’s attorney said Monday that he expected bond would be granted in that case by week’s end — meaning that the elderly, feeble former leader could walk free for the first time in more than two years.
“All we have left is a simple administrative procedure that should take no more than 48 hours. He should be freed by the end of the week,” Mubarak’s lawyer, Farid el-Deeb, told the Reuters news agency.
The possibility of Mubarak’s release comes amid a wave of violence, related to a crackdown by Egypt’s military-led government on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist who was voted into power after Mubarak’s fall. The bloodshed has left more than 800 civilians and dozens of members of the security forces dead since Wednesday.
The timing of the judicial action was sure to stir conspiracy theories about the influence of many of Mubarak’s longtime cronies in the military bureaucracy. But the decision to allow bond was the latest in a string of victories for Mubarak’s attorneys that predate the removal of Morsi.
The escalating bloodshed relating to the pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrations — on Sunday, 36 Morsi supporters were killed by police while they were being transferred to a prison north of Cairo — also appears to be contributing to a worsening of violence in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula.
On Monday, unidentified gunmen opened fire on police cadets near the border post of Rafah, killing 25, according to Egyptian police and Interior Ministry officials. It was the worst attack in decades in a remote and lawless area, where Islamist militants have stepped up an armed campaign against security forces since Mubarak’s ouster.
The police recruits were returning from leave to their jobs near the border with Israel. Gunmen ordered them out of two minibuses and forced them to lie on the ground before shooting them, officials told the Associated Press.
The police officers were dressed in civilian clothes, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The 36 people who were killed Sunday were detained at demonstrations in support of Morsi. Egyptian authorities said the prisoners died during an attempted jailbreak.
The two incidents highlighted the instability that has spread through Egypt since the removal of Morsi, the country’s first elected president. Morsi was forced from power six weeks ago, after massive demonstrations against him.
Since then, Islamist militants have stepped up their attacks on the military and police forces stationed in the Sinai. Shootings of security forces have become a near-daily occurrence, even as political violence has engulfed other parts of the country and police and security forces have launched a lethal crackdown on pro-Morsi demonstrators
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...8bf-11e3-8974-f97ab3b3c677_story.html?hpid=z1
Longtime Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak could walk out of jail within days, court officials and his lawyer said Monday, injecting a volatile new element into the political crisis that has engulfed the world’s largest Arab country.
The former dictator, who was overthrown by a popular revolution in 2011, still faces charges in connection with the killing of hundreds of protesters in that Arab Spring revolt. But he has been granted bond in that case, and a judge on Monday said he should be able to leave prison as he awaits another trial on corruption charges
He remains behind bars only because of a third case, also relating to corruption, and Mubarak’s attorney said Monday that he expected bond would be granted in that case by week’s end — meaning that the elderly, feeble former leader could walk free for the first time in more than two years.
“All we have left is a simple administrative procedure that should take no more than 48 hours. He should be freed by the end of the week,” Mubarak’s lawyer, Farid el-Deeb, told the Reuters news agency.
The possibility of Mubarak’s release comes amid a wave of violence, related to a crackdown by Egypt’s military-led government on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist who was voted into power after Mubarak’s fall. The bloodshed has left more than 800 civilians and dozens of members of the security forces dead since Wednesday.
The timing of the judicial action was sure to stir conspiracy theories about the influence of many of Mubarak’s longtime cronies in the military bureaucracy. But the decision to allow bond was the latest in a string of victories for Mubarak’s attorneys that predate the removal of Morsi.
The escalating bloodshed relating to the pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrations — on Sunday, 36 Morsi supporters were killed by police while they were being transferred to a prison north of Cairo — also appears to be contributing to a worsening of violence in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula.
On Monday, unidentified gunmen opened fire on police cadets near the border post of Rafah, killing 25, according to Egyptian police and Interior Ministry officials. It was the worst attack in decades in a remote and lawless area, where Islamist militants have stepped up an armed campaign against security forces since Mubarak’s ouster.
The police recruits were returning from leave to their jobs near the border with Israel. Gunmen ordered them out of two minibuses and forced them to lie on the ground before shooting them, officials told the Associated Press.
The police officers were dressed in civilian clothes, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The 36 people who were killed Sunday were detained at demonstrations in support of Morsi. Egyptian authorities said the prisoners died during an attempted jailbreak.
The two incidents highlighted the instability that has spread through Egypt since the removal of Morsi, the country’s first elected president. Morsi was forced from power six weeks ago, after massive demonstrations against him.
Since then, Islamist militants have stepped up their attacks on the military and police forces stationed in the Sinai. Shootings of security forces have become a near-daily occurrence, even as political violence has engulfed other parts of the country and police and security forces have launched a lethal crackdown on pro-Morsi demonstrators
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...8bf-11e3-8974-f97ab3b3c677_story.html?hpid=z1
Last edited: