Egyptian court acquits three former ministers

Egyptian court acquits three former ministers

2011-07-05 22:06:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO, EGYPT (BNO NEWS) -- An Egyptian court on Tuesday acquitted three former ministers of the Mubarak-regime era over misappropriation of state funds charges, the Ahram newspaper reported.

A Cairo criminal court found Anas El-Fiqqi, former minister of information; Youssef Boutros Ghali, former minister of finance; and Ahmed El-Maghrabi, former minister of housing, not guilty of the charges brought against them.

El-Fiqqi and Ghali were acquitted from misuse of public funds in order to finance propaganda for the former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) which was led by ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Boutros-Ghali was previously sentenced to 30 years in prison in absentia after been convicted of squandering public funds in early June. The court also ordered Ghali to return 30 million Egyptian pounds ($5 million) and pay the same amount in fines.

El-Maghrabi was cleared along Adli Fadli, the CEO of the Akhbar Al Yyoum media organization, over illegal profiteering charges. They were accused of selling government-owned land to one of Palm Hills, one of Egypt's major property developers.

The Cairo court also sentenced Rachid Mohamed Rachid, former minister of trade, in absentia. He was found guilty of squandering public funds and ordered to five years in prison.

Rachid was already convicted to five years in prison last month over similar charges. He conspired with two business executives, Helmi Abul-Eish and Adham Nadim, to misusing public funds in relation to the Industrial Modernization Center, a state-run project to support industry.

Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, stepped down after weeks of anti-government protests calling for greater democracy and respect of human rights. Afterwards, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took control of the country. He is expected to stand trial for corruption and murder charges on August 3.

Activists have been demanding speedier trials for Mubarak and his aides. At least 840 people were killed and over 6,000 people were injured in the violent repression that took place during the uprising.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-05