Egypt's attorney general on Tuesday referred former President Hosni Mubarak, his two sons and businessman Hussein Salem for criminal prosecution. In a statement posted on the Public Prosecution's Facebook page, Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud accused the defendants of charges related to the killing of protesters during the 25 January revolution. Mahmoud also accused the defendants of being involved in the gas exports to Israel deal, squandering state funds and illegally gaining financial benefits for themselves and for others. According to the statement, Hosni Mubarak was involved, along with former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and some senior police officers, in the killing and attempted murder of peaceful protesters in various parts of the country since 25 January. The referral decision also stated that Mubarak and Adly incited some police officers and other members of the police force to fire live ammunition at protesters and to run over them with their vehicles with the intention of killing and dispersing them. The attorney general's statement went on to state that as president, Mubarak exploited his influence with the relevant authorities to gain illegal benefits for himself and his two sons. It stated that Mubarak allowed Salem to seize hundreds of thousands of acres of state-owned land in the most prestigious tourist areas in the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea. Gamal and Alaa Mubarak are accused of abusing their influence as the president's sons to facilitate Salem's access to state land in exchange for real estate they received from Salem. The prosecution said that Hosni Mubarak, together with former Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmi, some ministry officials and Hussein Salem, were all involved in enabling the latter to obtain illegal financial benefits exceeding US$2 billion by assigning Salem's company the contract to sell Egyptian natural gas to Israel at low prices. The Public Prosecution said it had notified the military court of the accusations it received regarding suspicions that Mubarak had received commissions in arms deals, as the military prosecution has the legal jurisdiction to investigate such suspicions. Translated from the Arabic Edition
