CAIRO - The heavily guarded Tora Prison in Helwan Governorate to the south of Cairo must have constituted the biggest threat to the nation and the youngsters, who toppled Hosni Mubarak after 30 years in power. Taking into consideration the extraordinary identities of its new inmates, Tora Prison might better be described as the Counterrevolution Command Council. Apart from the former President, who is currently in hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, its VIP inmates are once powerful officials and businessmen, who now stand accused of power abuse and corruption on a staggering scale. They include Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and Gamal; ex-Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif; former Chairman of the Shura Council (Upper House of Egypt's bicameral Parliament) Safwat el-Sharif; ex-Minister of Interior Gen. Habib el-Adly and four of his powerful former assistants; and the former Liaison Officer of the disgraced National Democratic Party, Ahmed Ezz, who is also an iron and steel tycoon. They also include ex-Minister of Housing and Urban Communities Ahmed el-Maghrabi and his predecessor Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman; former Minister of Tourism Zuheir Garanna; ex-Minister of Information Anas el-Fekki; and the Speaker of the People's Assembly, Ahmed Fathi Sorour. Moreover, many wealthy members of the condemned NDP will soon be dumped in Tora Prison for their alleged role in the killing of demonstrators in Al Tahrir Square during the so-called Battle of the Camel. The press coined this name for the battle in which demonstrators were attacked by armed thugs riding camels. The new community in Tora Prison would become more threatening if Mubarak were to recover from an alleged mild heart attack and be transferred to the jail. It is unlikely that these inmates, who had everything when they were in office, will give in so easily to the young revolutionaries. Known for their sense of humour, the Egyptians have decided that Tora Prison should now be described as the headquarters of a new, extraordinary government, formed by the toppled President in extraordinary circumstances. Perhaps these inmates have already come up with a strategy for a counterrevolution and are expecting the former President to turn up at any moment to put the final touches to their plan. Egyptians jest that Mubarak would instruct his exceptional government to bribe a corrupt prison officer to smuggle their counter-revolutionary strategies to thousands of his loyal elements (including officers who belonged to the disbanded State Security Authority) on the outside, who are impatiently waiting to receive the signal to act. Many Egyptian citizens, neutral eyewitnesses of the ongoing skirmishes between the revolutionary youngsters and pro-Mubarak forces, are still afraid, because, on several occasions, pro-Mubarak elements have tried to silence youngsters and evict them from Al Tahrir. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces should monitor the loyalty of the prison guards and their superintendent, because Mubarak's wealthy entourage might bribe them some or all of them to join the counter-revolution and help them escape. In the chaotic early days of the revolution, a number of big prisons were simultaneously attacked. Their gates were blown open and tens of thousands of inmates were set free. It is thought that these attacks were planned by drug barons, in order to release their colleagues. But many people espouse another theory: the release of dangerous criminals from prison was planned by the former Minister of Interior, to terrorise the nation if his riot police failed to control the demonstrators. El-Adly is also accused of ordering the police to leave the streets on January 28, in order to exacerbate the lawlessness and chaos. In collaboration with a fact-finding team, the Public Prosecution has been trying to sift fact from fiction. Under no circumstances should the VIPs in Tora Prison be allowed to see each other. To calm an agitated nation, these powerful inmates should be distributed among different prisons nationwide.
