Cairo's Criminal Court has dropped corruption charges against three of Hosni Mubarak's ministers, reports Gamal Essam El-Din Cairo's Criminal Court issued a judicial order on Tuesday acquitting three former ministers of corruption charges. The court ordered that the charges against Anas El-Fiqi, Youssef Boutros Ghali and Ahmed El-Maghrabi, the former ministers of information, finance and housing respectively, be dropped. El-Fiqi and Boutros Ghali had been accused of diverting LE36 million from the state treasury to be spent on media campaigns for ousted Hosni Mubarak's now defunct National Democratic Party (NDP). El-Maghrabi, a former chairman of the real estate developer Palm Hills, was judged not guilty of illegally profiteering from the sale of state-owned land. Palm Hills current chairman, Yassin Mansour, fled Egypt after several complaints were filed against him. Prosecution authorities had accused Mansour, El-Maghrabi and Ahdi Fadli, the former board chairman of Akhbar Al-Youm Press Organisation, of manipulating the sale of 113 feddans of land in 6 October City in favour of Palm Hills. Fadli was cleared by the court of the charges. Former trade minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid has been sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for profiteering and squandering public funds. In another case, the ex-minister who fled the country during the political turmoil in late January and February received a five year sentence on 25 June after being found guilty of embezzling LE9.5 million from a fund that was established to promote Egyptian exports. Rachid offered to refund the LE9.5 in return for an amnesty from prosecution. On 4 June Youssef Boutros Ghali received a 30-year prison sentence when he was tried on corruption charges in absentia. The government has asked Interpol to arrest Ghali, who is thought to be living in London. Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud has appealed the most recent order from Cairo Criminal Court. Prosecution spokesman Adel-El-Said says, "the prosecutor's office believes that the judicial orders were unfair and that corruption charges levelled against the three former ministers are well-documented." In May former interior minister Habib El-Adli was sentenced to 12 years in jail on corruption charges. Former tourism minister Zoheir Garana and housing minister Ahmed El-Maghrabi both received five year sentences. Activists are demanding that former officials from Mubarak's regime face speedier trials and are planning a mass rally in Tahrir Square tomorrow to press their demands. They are concerned that senior police officers who are alleged to have opened fire on pro-democracy protesters at Tahrir Square during the 25 January revolution remain free. Meanwhile, a small crowd gathered in front of the Spanish embassy on 1 July to demand the extradition to Egypt of businessman Hussein Salem. Salem is a close friend of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and is believed to have been involved in many dubious business deals, including arms sales. The trial of Salem, Mubarak and his two sons Alaa and Gamal, is scheduled to open on 3 August. All four face charges of illegally profiteering from selling natural gas to Israel at subsidised prices. Prosecution authorities claim Salem made $2 billion from the deal. Salem, his son and a Turkish associate were arrested in Spain on 16 June. He is being questioned in connection with a money-laundering case in Spain. Mubarak and his two sons are accused of helping Salem monopolise gas sales in return for kick-backs, including properties in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. During a press conference on 30 June the Spanish ambassador in Cairo said that Salem could be handed over to Egypt if it is shown that he holds dual nationality, which is not allowed under Spanish law. The ambassador said that, "Salem had given up his Egyptian nationality when he acquired Spanish nationality". "He was granted Spanish nationality after he had stayed in Spain for ten years, the period required by Spanish law. Investigations are ongoing into whether there were any infringements of the due process." The prosecutor-general's office forwarded documents to the Spanish government on 17 June detailing charges against Salem, including a copy of his Egyptian passport which Salem used between 2005 and 2011 in violation of Spanish laws prohibiting dual citizenship. Spain has frozen $47 million of assets held by Salem and his relatives in Salem and seized homes worth $14 million. Bail was set at ê27 million.
