Farid el-Deeb, defense lawyer of former President Hosni Mubarak and his family said he is sure they will acquitted of all the charges attributed to them regarding the killing of demonstrators and the seizure of state funds. El-Deeb said the last medical inspection of Mubarak showed that he suffers from a variety of illnesses including kidney problems, failure of a cardiac muscle, and a tumor in his colon. El-Deeb said that Mubarak's wealth does not exceed six million pounds. El-Deeb denied what was reported in foreign newspapers, such as "The Guardian" and "The Times", about his wealth exceeding $ 2.5 billion, and his villas and palaces in Italy or Spain. El-Deeb said he intends to sue newspapers that are defaming the former president and his family. El-Deeb said the Egyptian newspaper "Al-Shorouk" is at the top of his list because of its false reports regarding Mubarak's pardon. Al-Shorouk reported before the speech that Mubarak will only ask for pardon if he has committed the crimes he has been accused of. El-Deeb, however, said his client did not commit them. Jornalist Mohammed Hassanein Heikal is also at the top of El-Deeb's list, as El-Deeb accused him of settling personal scores with the former president by spreading lies about him. El-Deeb cited the book that Heikal wrote after the 1973 War that praised the leadership of Mubarak during the war. El-Deeb said that yet this is what Heikal recently criticized in his program, as he claimed that this was merely propaganda spread by Mubarak. El-Deeb refused to say how much he will be receiving from Mubarak's family, especially since their assets and bank accounts have been frozen. He said he will only tell the tax authorities. El-Deeb said he is defending the former presidents purely because he is a national hero worthy of being defended. El-Deeb criticized the current Minister of Justice for coming out with what he claims are fraud statements regarding Mubarak's wealth. According to el-Deeb, the Minister said Mubark's wealth consisted of 70 million Egyptian pounds despite the fact that he lacked evidence to prove such statements. El-Deeb said former first lady Suzanne Mubarak's legal position is strong after she returned $24 million to the state. He denied her involvement in the accounts concerning the Alexandria Library and the return of $143 million. He said accusations directed at Gamal and Alaa Mubark regarding the death of protestors and the owning of properties are still being examined by the public prosecutor. El-Deeb said that he, however, is sure they are innocent. He also called for the trial to be public since that would not affect the impartiality of the judge, and for the press to stop attacking the former president.
