The Coalition of the 25 January Revolution is calling demonstrators back to Tahrir Square to demand the trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and leading figures from his regime, reports Gamal Essam El-Din In a statement on Monday the Coalition of the 25 January Revolution questioned why ex-president Hosni Mubarak, his family, and leading figures from the regime remain at large though they are suspected of stealing billions of dollars. The statement called for the speedy trial of Mubarak and the restoration of frozen assets held inside and outside Egypt. The Higher Council of the Armed Forces (HCAF) announced on Monday that Mubarak and his family have been placed under house arrest in Sharm El-Sheikh. The announcement seems to be intended to dispel media reports that the family was seeking refuge in Saudi Arabia. Minister of Justice Mohamed El-Guindi announced on Sunday that the government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf is doing its best to restore the assets of Mubarak and his family. El-Guindi explained that the Illicit Funds Office (IFO) is still investigating the sources of Mubarak family's wealth. In a statement on Sunday Ingi Hamdi, media coordinator for 6 April Youth Movement said the protest will be held under the banner "The People Want to Bring Corrupt Figures to Trial". She insisted that the revolution remains ongoing as long as those who corrupted Egypt's political life remain free. "We will not allow the vestiges of the toppled regime, state security, the National Democratic Party [NDP], those who receive benefits from businessmen and thugs to steal our revolution," she said. Hamdi called for the trial of ex-president Hosni Mubarak and his family and the restoration of frozen assets that could then be used to bolster the national economy. She said figures belonging to the ousted regime must be removed from their positions, particularly within media institutions, and held accountable, and that the NDP not only be banned but its leading members barred from political activity five years. Safwat El-Sherif, former speaker of the Shura Council; Gamal Mubarak, former NDP leader; Zakaria Azmi, former chief of presidential staff; Fathi Sorour, former speaker of parliament and Moufid Shehab, a former minister, are among those the coalition are demanding face justice. Hamdi also criticised new legislation that seeks to outlaw protests. Mubarak's funds in the UK remain untouchable till now. "Mubarak and his family might have already transferred their funds in the United Kingdom to another destination," British officials Al-Ahram daily. British officials have suggested official Egyptian government requests to freeze the assets of 19 Egyptians officials, including those of Hosni Mubarak and his family, were only received after money was moved out of the UK too late, and that in the absence of an official Egyptian request it was legally impossible for the UK government to take any action. "The UK has no legal power to help recuperate funds that were transferred before the 22 March," said one British source. He stressed that the gap between the receipt of the Egyptian official request and the issuing of the EU request on 21 March to freeze assets had allowed them to be transferred out of British jurisdiction. Mohamed Mahsoub, secretary of the Egyptian Group to Recuperate the People's Wealth, says the British position shows "bad faith and procrastination". The UK government, Mahsoub argues, had sufficient authority under international conventions to combat money laundering and corruption to freeze suspect assets immediately, as it did in the case of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. "The British statements are unclear. They do not reveal if Egyptian officials still have funds in London or not. And if they do, why don't they freeze them?" asks Hossam Eissa, president of the group. He has suggested that the Egyptian government was never really serious in requesting such assets be frozen. "It's a crime against the Egyptian people and the only solution is to imprison these people till they give back the money they stole." Eissa blames Ahmed Abul-Gheit, the former foreign minister, for Egypt's non-approach to the issue. Images and videos of once untouchable cronies from the inner circle of Mubarak sitting behind bars remain one of the most telling images from the 25 January Revolution. In an attempt to secure their release six prominent businessmen, including Ahmed Ezz, the steel oligarch, Mounir Ghabbour, Hisham El-Hazeq, Hussein Sajwani, Mohamed Abul-Enein and UAE businessman Omar Al-Futtaim, have recently offered to make financial reparations totalling LE2.375 billion in addition to returning state land acquired in a series of shady deals. Following the collapse of the 30-year-old Mubarak regime on 11 February Gamal Mubarak's businessmen cronies, as well as old time political figures around his father, became the focus of public anger. In an attempt to defuse the fury the prosecutor-general filed formal charges against dozens of former ministers and prominent businessmen for abusing their positions to enrich themselves. Assets have been frozen and travel bans issued. "We are studying the possibility of benefiting from the reconciliation experiences of Morocco, Chile and South Africa," Yehia El-Gamal, deputy prime minister, said a few days ago on a programme aired by state television. After the collapse of the apartheid regime in South Africa, regime a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was created to look into corruption and human rights violations. Committees were formed comprising a legal expert, a member of parliament and a human rights representative. The committee would meet with officials facing charges and fix the compensation they must pay. "If Egypt were to follow this example it may lead to reconciliation within Egyptian society and also help recover funds misappropriated during the regime of former president Mubarak," says El-Gamal. While for the government it may seem wise to promote such reconciliation many activists believe it constitutes too little, too late. "I do not think 30 years of corruption and theft of public money by a handful of oligarchs can be ameliorated by the paying of sums in compensation," says Khaled Ali. "Angry people will never tolerate the cronies who have sucked their blood for years." Two thirds of participants in an ongoing poll conducted by Ahram Online believe that business tycoons found guilty of malpractice should face prison sentences in addition to the confiscation of any illegal gains. Only nine per cent say they should be spared prison even if they returned all their illicit profits to the state. "There are laws that allow citizens accused of wasting public funds to request reconciliation," one legal expert and ex-official told Ahram Online. "The law also permits the closing of any investigation, at the discretion of the court, in cases in which the 'wasted' money is returned to the state." In previous cases the Court of Cassation has halted investigations and released suspects who were willing to pay. "Recent legal trends say the court may seek reparation if it is in the interest of the injured individuals, when his or her rights have been infringed,". "In this case, the injured are the Egyptian people". "How will Egyptians benefit if Ezz and other businessmen are jailed and billions of dollars of their money is lost to the public?" leading criminal lawyer Bahaaeddin Abu Shoqa asked. Abu Shoqa, who is reported to have refused to defend Mubarak and his family despite being offered large amounts of money, argues that any court must take into consideration the fact that the money in question was taken at a time when the entire business environment was corrupt and watchdog organisations powerless. "We have got to keep in mind that these businessmen were employing thousands of young people and that putting them in jail will leave many of their employees jobless," he adds. "I think the court, as well as public opinion, should also take into consideration that most of their money is kept in banks abroad and we might never be able to get it back," he said, arguing that reconciliation at least allowed for the possibility of restitution.
