In a bid apparently aimed at containing a second "Friday of Anger" demonstration tomorrow, ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons were referred to trial Tuesday, Gamal Essam El-Din reports Ousted president Hosni Mubarak will be registered in history as the first Arab leader to be referred to trial on criminal charges. On 24 May, Prosecutor- General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud ordered that Mubarak, his two sons Alaa and Gamal, and business associate Hussein Salem, be referred to court on charges of manslaughter and illegal profiteering. Since 13 April Mubarak has been remanded in custody pending investigations. According to law, a defendant can be remanded in custody for a maximum period of 45 days, at the end of which prosecuting authorities should decide whether the defendant should be referred to trial or kept in custody for a further period but under a judicial order. Mubarak's period in custody was due to expire tomorrow. The former president, who is being held at Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital for health reasons, faces charges on three counts. A prosecution- general statement indicated that Mubarak, in collaboration with former Interior Minister Habib El-Adli, and other former senior police officers, issued orders to open fire on 25 January Revolution protesters although the latter had embarked on peaceful demonstrations to ask for political reform and an end to corruption. The statement also indicated that Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, enjoyed undue personal benefits in the form of large palaces and four villas in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. "These possessions -- estimated at LE40 million -- were bought at a very symbolic price from businessman Hussein Salem in return for helping him own millions of metres in South Sinai governorate." It added that Mubarak's sons got four villas from Salem, at an estimated value of LE14 million, in return for tapping their father's influence to help Salem's land projects in South Sinai. Third, read the prosecutor-general's statement, Mubarak and former minister of petroleum Sameh Fahmi conspired to allow Hussein Salem to monopolise exporting Egyptian natural gas to Israel at cheap prices against hefty commissions. "This deal helped Salem achieve a profit of LE2 billion," said the statement. Mubarak is also expected to face trial before a military court on charges of profiteering from arms sales. Several reports indicate that Mubarak helped business friend Salem set up a company by the name of EATSCO (The Egyptian-American Transport and Services Company) to transport American military assistance in the form of weapons to Egypt in return for large commissions. EATSCO was co- owned by Salem and former US CIA intelligence officers. Some US media reports claim that Mubarak "used to get his cut from commissions and give the rest to late president Anwar El-Sadat." The prosecution-general said military courts were authorised to investigate such cases. Mubarak's two sons are also due to face other corruption charges, ranging from profiteering from privatisation deals to forced partnerships with businessmen. The referral of Mubarak and his two sons to a criminal court comes after the ruling Higher Council of the Armed Forces (HCAF) has been under huge pressure in recent days to prosecute Mubarak. The HCAF was forced last week to strongly deny media reports that claimed that Mubarak would be forgiven for his crimes in the same way his wife, Suzanne, was exempted from prosecution after she agreed to hand over about $3.4 million in accounts with two banks and a villa in Cairo. The HCAF complained that some in media were disseminating false reports, aiming to drive a wedge between the army and the people. Rumours, however, had it again this week that the HCAF might forgive Mubarak in return for him giving up his wealth, and also for economic assistance from Saudi Arabia. Speculation was rife that after King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia decided to give Egypt $4 billion this week, "he said he is ready to raise this amount up to $10 billion in return for forgiving Mubarak and his wife Suzanne." Such rumours were reinforced by the fact that several oil-rich Arab Gulf emirs and kings offered to foot the bill of Mubarak's medical treatment in Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital. Recent official sources show that the health of Mubarak and his wife has much improved, but both are reported to suffer from depression. A prosecution source said Mubarak would not be moved to Cairo until the hospital of Tora prison is readied to receive him, and he could face trial there. Mubarak suffers from heart problems. Mohamed Fathallah, director of Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital, said a newly formed medical committee examined Mubarak on Tuesday and made a report upon which it will be decided whether Mubarak would be moved to Cairo or not. On 22 May, a criminal court sentenced Mohamed Ibrahim Abdel-Moneim, a policeman, to death for killing 21 pro-democracy protesters on 28 January (the "Friday of Anger"). The ruling has sent shockwaves among the Mubarak family and the deposed regime's former officials who currently face trial on charges of manslaughter and opening fire on protesters. Many legal experts agreed that if found guilty Mubarak could be handed a death sentence. The trial of Mubarak has become a very sticky issue between the army and youth movements of the 25 January Revolution in recent days. These movements accuse the HCAF of bowing to Saudi Arabia's pressure not to prosecute Mubarak and of dragging its feet on other reforms, such as disbanding local councils, amending the constitution ahead of parliamentary elections, and holding presidential polls first. Revolutionary youth movements, such as the 6 April Movement and the 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition, said they plan to organise a second "Friday of Anger" or a "The Friday of Prosecuting Political Corruption". They accused the HCAF of imposing its viewpoints on the scenario and roadmap of political reform and democratic transition in Egypt. "The army did an excellent job during the revolution, but when it comes to managing the political affairs of the country, it should know that its management must bring it under criticism," said Bassem Kamel, a member of the executive board of the Youth Coalition. Kamel cited HCAF's refusal to draft a constitution ahead of parliamentary elections, scheduled for September, and ratifying amendments to two key laws -- the political parties law and that governing the exercise of political rights -- without putting them to public debate first. At a conference in the Press Syndicate Tuesday, the Youth Coalition proposed an initiative aimed at "getting Egypt out of its current political crisis". "This initiative is aimed at charting a new constitution ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections," a coalition statement said. "We emphasise that presidential polls should be held first in order to give room for internal security conditions to be stabilised before parliamentary elections are held, and not to allow certain political forces -- the Muslim Brotherhood -- to hijack the seats of the new parliament," the statement argued. Injy Hamdi, spokesperson of the 6 April Movement, also cited the increase in number of civilians referred to military tribunals, and the kidnapping of political activists and treating them like thugs, as reasons for rallying citizens to participate in tomorrow's Tahrir Square million-man demonstration. "It is by no means credible that corrupt officials of the Mubarak regime enjoy the advantage of facing trials before ordinary courts, while young pro-democracy activists are forced to face military tribunals," said Hamdi. Opposition figures, such as chairman of the Nasserist Party Sameh Ashour, underlined that several civil forces support joining the 27 May demonstration. "There is a general agreement that a constitution must be drafted first ahead of any elections, because this will help chart a new political roadmap for the country," said Ashour. The Kifaya Movement also joined forces, saying that tomorrow's demonstration "is aimed at sending a message to the ruling military junta: a new constitution must be drafted first and that parliamentary elections must be delayed and presidential polls be held first." The Muslim Brotherhood is the only force that refuses to join tomorrow's protests. Amr Moussa, the outgoing secretary-general of the Arab League and a potential presidential candidate, also joined forces, stressing that "parliamentary elections must be delayed until a new constitution is charted and a presidential poll is held first." In the words of Moussa, "September is too early for parliamentary elections, in which Islamists are expected to make a strong showing at the expense of poorly organised secular groups... It's far better to begin with setting up a constituent assembly to be tasked with drafting a new constitution, then hold a presidential poll, and last organise a parliamentary election." The September election is widely expected to serve Islamists, particularly the well-organised Muslim Brotherhood movement. It bought an expensive building -- estimated at LE40 million -- in a high-class district in South Cairo, collected signatures from more than 5,000 citizens for its new party and footed the bill of publishing the list of their names on the pages of two national newspapers. By contrast, secular groups that spearheaded the revolt against Mubarak have a long way to go to better organise themselves into parties. Mohamed El-Baradei, ex-chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency and another presidential hopeful, told the CNN that he feels worry that Islamist forces will control the next parliament. He also insisted that a new constitution must be drafted first, and that a presidential poll comes ahead of parliamentary elections. Essam El-Erian, a senior Muslim Brotherhood official, said "Friday protests are held upon the collective agreement of the Coordination Committee of the 25 January Revolution's movements, rather than upon the unilateral decision of some movement or another." The Brotherhood also decided to boycott a "national dialogue" conference aimed at drawing up guidelines for the new constitution. Saad El-Katani, chairman of Brotherhood's Justice and Freedom Party, said: "The group decided not to participate because it is the new parliament that will be entrusted with drafting the new constitution." Many, however, believe that Muslim Brotherhood want parliamentary elections to come first "because they believe they are the force most capable of sweeping its seats" and that they would then have the upper hand in drafting a new constitution modelled on the principles of Islamic Sharia.
