Egypt prosecutor postpones questioning after Mubarak hospitalized News
Egypt prosecutor postpones questioning after Mubarak hospitalized
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[JURIST] Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile] was hospitalized Tuesday before he was scheduled to appear before Egypt’s public prosecutor for questioning about his alleged roles in protester deaths and embezzlement of government money. The chief prosecutor on Sunday summoned [Al Jazeera report] Mubarak for questioning, along with his two sons, Gamal and Alaa. Egyptian authorities continued to question Mubarak’s sons [AFP report] after Mubarak was taken to the hospital. In a televised statement on Sunday, Mubarak denied corruption charges [BBC report], asserted his right to defend his reputation and expressed his willingness to cooperate [Al Arabiya report] with investigations, denying that he owns property abroad or holds foreign bank accounts. The prosecutor’s announcement came after tens of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square [JURIST report] on Friday to demand the prosecution of Mubarak, his family and members of his regime.

Friday’s protests reveal Egyptians’ growing frustration with the pace at which the current military council is pursuing the punishment of the regime’s political corruption [JURIST reports]. In March, a commission of Arab and Egyptian human rights groups accused Mubarak and the police of murdering protesters during the demonstrations in Egypt, according to a local newspaper [Al-Ahram report, in Arabic]. The joint commission submitted their report to Egypt’s top prosecutor for further investigation. The Supreme Military Council of Egypt, which assumed power after Mubarak’s resignation, instructed Egypt’s top prosecutor to investigate the death of protesters [Ria Novosti report] during the three weeks of demonstrations in the country. Following the demonstrations, Egypt’s chief prosecutor requested in February that Foreign Ministry officials take steps to freeze any foreign assets [JURIST report] belonging to Mubarak and his family.