Al-Ahli leader at Tora FORMER chairman of Al-Ahli Sporting Club and former head of Al-Ahram Advertising Agency Hassan Hamdi was sent to Tora prison on Monday pending investigations into charges of financial corruption at Al-Ahram. Hamdi, who was arrested at dawn on Sunday and questioned for nearly 16 hours, denied all charges. Hamdi's detention was ordered by Judge Tharwat Hamed, appointed to conduct investigations into the case. While being questioned by the Illicit Gains Authority in February, Hamdi failed to explain how he had accumulated around LE500 million while occupying his post at Al-Ahram. Travel bans were imposed on Hamdi and three other former Al-Ahram CEOs: Ibrahim Nafie, Morsi Attallah and Abdel-Moneim Said. Said is currently the CEO of Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, while Nafie is already abroad. Bail denied THE TRIAL of 20 journalists working for Al-Jazeera who face charges of aiding or joining the Muslim Brotherhood group will be resumed on 31 March. During Monday's hearing, the court panel turned down the defendants' request for bail. The prosecution accused the defendants of “possession of unlicensed devices”, while the defendants requested to be transferred from Al-Aqrab prison, where they claim they have been subjected to torture at the hands of security officers, in addition to the absence of medical care. The journalists' case had stirred a chorus of international condemnations over the stifling of media freedoms in Egypt. The defendants include Australian reporter Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed — all of whom worked for Al-Jazeera English, which is licensed to work in Egypt according to their defense lawyer. The journalists have been in custody since late December, when they were arrested at a Cairo hotel over an allegedly illegal broadcast. Only eight defendants are in custody, and the rest — including two Britons, Sue Turton and Dominic Kane, and the Dutch journalist Rena Netjes — are being tried in absentia, having fled the country on being indicted. Al-Jazeera has dismissed the charges against its staff as “absurd” and “baseless” and continues to press for their release. No kidnapping TOP OFFICIALS at the Libyan Interior Ministry denied on Sunday what was reported about the kidnapping of two Egyptian workers in Tripoli. The security directorate in the capital had not registered any kidnappings, Libyan security sources affirmed. Earlier on Friday, an Egyptian man said that unidentified gunmen had kidnapped two of his relatives in Tripoli and demanded $79,000 for their release. The Interior Ministry called on the Egyptian family of the workers in question to report the incident to the Libyan authorities, demanding an investigation. The ministry noted that foreign workers are routinely stopped for their identification papers at security checkpoints. Last week, the Libyan Interior Ministry stopped 40 Egyptian workers to check their identification documents. Allegedly raped MINISTER of Tourism Hisham Zaazou ordered the revoking of the licences of Hilton Sharks Bay and Sharm Holiday Resort after reports of sexual harassment cases occurred at the hotels. The decision came despite the Tourism Ministry's announcement on Monday that it was investigating the alleged rape of a British holidaymaker in the Sinai resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh. “We are following the case with the British Embassy and the local tourism police, and the case is currently under investigation,” tourism ministry spokesperson Rasha Al-Azazy was quoted as saying. The victim, a businesswoman in her 40s, says she was raped by a security guard at a five-star hotel in the Red Sea resort town. According to the woman's narrative, the guard was escorting her back to the hotel when he allegedly pulled her into her bedroom and subjected her to a brutal assault. The woman is now back in the UK, where the Hampshire Police are leading the investigation. A severe punishment will be imposed if the ministry confirms the crime, Al-Azazy said.
