The Mubaraks' day of judgement

The Mubaraks' day of judgement
Egypt's former president is still seeking a dignified end he is unlikely to get, writes Dina Ezzat
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Mubarak's era of impunity has come to an end

Two months ago, Hosni Mubarak stepped down from near 30 years of rule. On Tuesday, Mubarak left his residence in Sharm El-Sheikh -- where he has been under house arrest -- to appear before an investigation committee on charges of financial corruption. He was put under official custody for 15 days pending further questioning.

Hours later, state TV announced that Mubarak was rushed into a Sharm El-Sheikh hospital with a heart attack while undergoing questioning over illicit money making. At 3pm yesterday, Mubarak was transferred to the military International Medical Centre on Cairo-Ismailia road. His condition was reported as stable.

He was kissed good-bye by his two sons who, according to a medical source, were in a state of total disbelief as they were taken to Cairo where they are being held in Tora Prison for 15 days on charges of financial misappropriation. In addition, Gamal also faces charges of incitement against unarmed demonstrators during the first week of the revolution.

Meanwhile, official sources said that former first lady Suzanne Mubarak underwent questioning as well over her administration of public projects, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Mrs Mubarak was questioned at the Sharm El-Sheikh hospital where she spent the night with her husband, despite a permit for her to go back to her residence. Mrs Mubarak also denies all wrongdoing.

Mubarak's interrogation started less than 24 hours after Minister of Interior Mansour El-Eissawi told the Saudi- owned Al-Arabiya satellite channel that if the ousted president declined to voluntarily appear before the investigation he would be subject to law enforcement measures.

The commencement of the Mubarak investigation came less than two days after Al-Arabiya aired an audiotape of Mubarak denying all allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement and threatening legal action against anyone tarnishing the reputation of his family.

In the audiotape, the ousted president -- the first in Egypt's history to be deposed -- also said that his two sons and wife are innocent of all charges of financial abuse of power.

Mubarak insisted that his only funds and assets are deposited at an Egyptian bank and that whatever properties or assets owned by his sons Alaa and Gamal were acquired through legal business deals.

Alaa, a low-profile businessman, and Gamal, the once political star of the erstwhile ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), were both being interrogated in Al-Tor, in Sinai, Tuesday.

The three Mubaraks arrived at the interrogation venue in a solemn atmosphere and were joined at the interrogation office by their lawyer, Farid El-Deeb. According to informed sources, the three men were offered assurances that their photos taken upon arrival to the interrogation office in Al-Tor would not be released to the media.

The interrogation office was put under tight security, so that none would capture a glimpse of the Mubaraks. Military and official sources insist that all measures necessary to provide a fair legal process will be taken.

"Nobody on the Higher Council of the Armed Forces [HCAF] or in the government is trying to humiliate Mubarak," said a military source.

The HCAF has committed itself before the public to give no exemption from interrogation or prosecution for anyone from the Mubarak regime, including Mubarak himself and his two sons.

This has so far been the case. All three top figures of the Mubarak regime, former chief of staff Zakaria Azmi, former parliament speaker Fathi Sorour and former NDP Secretary-General Safwat El-Sherif have been subject to interrogation and a freeze on their assets. Azmi and Safwat -- once called "the untouchables" -- are now held under custody on charges of financial corruption.

Several countries have frozen the assets of the Mubaraks and their associates upon the request of the Egyptian government.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Kamel, a business tycoon and NDP leading figure, is facing, along with other NDP officials, charges of using bribes to stir unrest and to induce tension between the people and the army.

The message is clear for Mubarak, his family and their men: the era of impunity has come to an end, and dramatically so.

Informed Egyptian sources say that it must be clear to Mubarak by now that his "men inside" can do nothing to reverse the tide.

According to these and Western sources in Cairo, the only thing that Mubarak is hoping for now is a dignified exit out of the current situation whereby he is kept under house arrest as he is now facing charges that, if proven, could send him to jail.

Proving these charges, however, is going to be difficult, says an Egyptian legal source. He added that the family has assets in and out of Egypt, but they also have sufficient paperwork to prove that whatever they acquired was legal.

In all events, official and legal sources predict a long legal process. "This is not going to be a matter of a week or a month; this is going to take years," said one legal source. He added that the details of every case would have to be looked into and proven.

Meanwhile, if the early phase of the legal process goes well, the lawyers of the Mubaraks could ask for rescinding the house arrest order, especially in view of the cooperation of the Mubarak family with the interrogation authorities.

This could mean that the Mubaraks would have freedom to move around Egypt, and perhaps even travel abroad with special permits from the HCAF. It could also make it easier for the HCAF to grant a request for the former president to fly to Germany for further medical care at the Heidelberg Hospital where he underwent gall bladder surgery in March 2010.

Sources in Germany say Mubarak has received visits from hospital specialists for medical consultations, and they suggest that he could need further treatment in the hospital. However, informed sources in Cairo and Berlin insist that there are no plans for Mubarak to travel to Germany.

Several sources that have known the Mubarak family well say that if they sought asylum anywhere it would be London, not Heidelberg or Berlin. "This might be the wish of the family, but not of Mubarak himself; Mubarak meant what he said, that he wishes to die and to be buried in Egypt," said a retired presidential source.

In the second of three speeches that Mubarak delivered during the 18-day long popular revolt, he announced that he was born in Egypt and would die in Egypt and be buried in Egyptian soil. The melodramatic statement was perceived at the time as indication that Mubarak would not follow the steps of Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali, the Tunisian president who was ousted weeks before the end of Mubarak's rule on 11 February.

Mubarak has not left Egypt since he stepped down. It was only two weeks ago that the Mubarak family was announced to be under house arrest.

According to the same retired presidential source, Mubarak would not want to end up as an exiled head of state in some Western capital. "He hates to speak English and he does not feel comfortable except when he is in Egypt." He added: "Believe it or not -- despite the corruption and dictatorship -- he does love this country and deep down he is convinced that whatever he does is meant to serve the nation's interest."

The fall of Mubarak has meanwhile left a few regional capitals uneasy; amongst them -- according to several Egyptian, Arab and Western sources -- is Riyadh.

The Saudis have been trying to offer a deal by which Mubarak would be afforded an amnesty based on his ailing health, and that the family would reach a legal compromise with the state over any contested financial gain. The Saudis would offer a generous Egyptian economic assistance package -- writing off as much as 70 per cent of Egypt's foreign debt of $32 billion -- in return.

Officially, the Saudis went on record as denying this news. But sources insist that the Saudis are pressuring the HCAF to offer Mubarak a dignified end, and that the call is being met with some sympathy.

The question remains how to find a way by which Mubarak will get a dignified end that does not compromise the wide public call for justice to be done upon him.

Many in the top decision-making circles in Egypt are suggesting that maybe the 82-year-old former president would end up spending the remainder of his life in Sharm El-Sheikh -- either in hospital or some other convenient setting for his health condition -- while the legal process is ongoing.

"You are talking about a legal process that might take a few years; nobody thinks that [Mubarak] has more than a few years to go," said the legal source.

Days before Mubarak stepped down in an announcement made by then newly appointed vice president Omar Suleiman his aides said he was looking only for a dignified exit. Mubarak's lawyers remain in search of the same, allowing the old and ailing man to end his life without having to stand trial before a judge in court.

However, even if Mubarak were ultimately proven innocent of some or many of the charges of financial and political corruption he is facing, he will not enjoy the legacy of being the October 1973 War hero president.