Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly denied instructing his assistants to shoot protesters during the uprising that began on 25 January. He said he warned against using force, and ordered that only tear gas bombs and water be used to disperse protesters. Al-Adly said during investigations late on Friday that he met with his assistants on 24 January and gave instructions to inform officers at all police stations to hide weapons and ammunition. Al-Adly also denied taking any measures that led to the security vacuum on Egypt's streets from 28 January. Asked about shooting protesters in front of the Interior Ministry during the pro-democracy demonstrations, al-Adly replied that some officers fired shots in the air to disperse protesters attempting to break into the ministry. Meanwhile, Atef al-Manawi, lawyer for Ismail al-Shaer--formerly in charge of Cairo Security--said there were no snipers at the security directorate. Cairo prosecution continued investigating Abdel Nasser al-Gabri and Youssef Khattab, former members of parliament charged with hiring thugs to assault protesters. Both admitted involvement in pro-Mubarak protests but denied any inciting violence. Ahmed Sameeh, also a former MP, said National Democratic Party (NDP) secretary Sherif Wali called him on Tuesday 1 February and urged him to gather his supporters according to instructions given by former NDP Secretary General Safwat al-Sherif. Sameeh told Al-Masry Al-Youm he rejected the instructions, as gathering supporters would have led to clashes. A number of NDP MPs and leaders are alleged to have been involved in clashes on Wednesday 2 February. Regarding ongoing corruption investigations into NDP figures, informed sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that security officials have received information on businessman Hussein Salem's residency in London and are cooperating with foreign bodies to extradite him to Egypt. Salem is implicated in various corruption issues, including deals to export Egyptian gas to Israel. In related news, lawyer Samir Sabri said businessman Magdi Rasekh, the father-in-law of fromer president Hosni Mubarak's son Alaa, is involved in a bribery case involving Mercedes. Sabri said he filed report to the Attorney-General. Translated from the Arabic Edition
