CAIRO: Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) denied reports that ousted president Hosni Mubarak traveled to Saudi Arabia to receive medical treatment over the weekend. The SCAF, in charge of the country's administration since Mubarak's resignation in February, made the announcement on its Facebook page. The statement, ‘Communique No. 29,' said Mubarak and his family are currently under house arrest in Egypt. The statement came as a response to a report released by state-owned al-Akhbar newspaper that Mubarak had traveled to Tabuk, Saudi Arabic to receive treatment for pancreatic cancer. At a press conference on Monday, Major General Ismail Etman also denied the reports, calling them “completely incorrect.” Mubarak and his family have been banned from leaving Egypt since February 28, by order of the public prosecutor, who has also ordered all Mubarak family assets frozen pending investigation of corruption allegations. It should be noted that the Saudi King was the first Arab leader to express his total support to Mubarak during the Egyptian Revolution which began on January 25 and toppled the thirty-year president after only 18 days. In related news, former Minister of Communications, Tarek Kamel, traveled to France on Monday to receive urgent medical treatment despite a travel ban. BM
