EGYPT/FILE: Court clears three ministers from former President Hosni Mubarak's administration of graft
Record ID:
1547938
EGYPT/FILE: Court clears three ministers from former President Hosni Mubarak's administration of graft
- Title: EGYPT/FILE: Court clears three ministers from former President Hosni Mubarak's administration of graft
- Date: 6th July 2011
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (FILE - OCTOBER 9, 2008) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) SENIOR NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (NDP) OFFICIAL AND SON OF EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT, GAMAL MUBARAK, AND MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, RACHID MOHAMED RACHID, ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EGYPTIAN MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, RACHID MOHAMED RACHID, SAYING "We are well aware that if we continue with the same methods we will not achieve 6 to 7 percent but our target remains and we insist on achieving 6 or 7 percent, and we are therefore now saying, okay, investment is basic and must continue and so there must be a new system. There may be new incentives which the government will offer, there may be new initiatives which the government comes up with, there must be cooperation between the government and the financial institutions, because financing will be a very critical point in investment in the coming period because we see that foreign banks have problems, so this is an opportunity for us because our banks have liquidity, so we want to take measures to encourage investment." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 20th July 2011 21:31
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Crime,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA6J0HCTBVUPIUPQAX0R3WHLDUO
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: An Egyptian court on Tuesday (July 5) cleared three ministers from former President Hosni Mubarak's administration of graft, the first ruling to exonerate former ministers since Egypt's popular uprising.
Supporters of one of the accused, the former head of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, Osama El-Sheikh, gathered outside of the court to declare their support for him.
Some of the defendants reportedly looked surprised when the verdicts were read out in the court room, which was filled mainly with their relatives and friends, and cheers of "long live justice" erupted.
Despite today's acquittals, many of those standing trial face numerous other charges and have already been convicted and given prison sentences on some of them.
The protests that unseated Mubarak were driven by widespread anger at high-level corruption and the trials of his former associates are being seen as a credibility test for the military council that took power after his downfall.
Former information minister Anas el-Fekky and former finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali were found innocent of charges of graft, specifically squandering public funds. Boutros-Ghali, who has fled the country, was tried in absentia.
The verdict for former TV head Al-Sheikh was delayed.
In a separate ruling by the same court, former housing minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi and Palm Hills Development Chairman Yasseen Mansour were also acquitted of graft.
Fekky, who was close to Mubarak, still faces further charges, and Boutros-Ghali and Maghrabi have been sentenced to terms in prison for other crimes.
The prosecutor indicted Fekky and Boutros-Ghali in March on charges of profiteering and wasting public funds after investigations showed Fekky received 36 million Egyptian pounds ($6.04 million) from the Finance Ministry for parliamentary election media campaigns and to promote the ousted ruling party.
Fekky still faces charges that he deliberately misused funds from the state-run Radio and Television Union.
A relative of one of the accused ministers lashed out at those who had accused him of wrongdoing as he exited the court.
"All the people who got carried away and went too far, and who talked and talked, and all of the things that were reported that were wrong, all that was done wrong to this man who helped them������� but now God is with him and he will reveal the truth. Thank God," he said.
A lawyer for several of the accused officials said the verdict showed Egypt's judiciary was immune to pressure in the wake of the revolution.
"What has happened today is that Egypt has proven that its judiciary is fair, and that there are many in the judiciary who want to be written into history as being a part of judiciary legitimacy and not revolutionary legitimacy. These verdicts that were handed down today show that what happened is a clear sign in the history of the Egyptian judiciary."
Youssef Boutros-Ghali, widely viewed in Egypt as a public face of a government that enriched the wealthy at the expense of the poor, quit his post in late January then fled abroad only days after the eruption of the uprising that ousted Mubarak.
He was convicted last month and sentenced to 30 years in prison for profiteering and abuse of state and private assets. In a third ruling, former Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for squandering public funds.
Rachid was already convicted in June to 5 years in prison for profiteering and squandering public funds. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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