Egyptian protesters shout slogans against ousted president Hosni Mubarak outside the Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital in the resort town. arbed wire fences and forbidding high walls became a horrifyingly familiar sight to those who dared speak out over the past three decades; for many of the thousands who passed through Cairo's Tora prison complex and were tortured within it, this notorious jail was the ultimate symbol of Hosni Mubarak's Egypt.
On Wednesday, as it has done so many times before, Tora received two more prisoners accused of crimes against the state. Their names were Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, sons of the ousted president, and they arrived in the early hours, handcuffed and clad in standard-issue white jumpsuits.
Egypt's remarkable revolution has boasted many poignant moments, but the sight of the all-powerful Mubarak family being led into the top-security cells which once housed their political opponents will count among the most memorable.The detained ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was on Thursday asked to appear before a Cairo court along with his two sons on Tuesday, in signs that the military rulers were pushing ahead with investigations against him, in spite of his complaints of heart trouble.
The authorities, however, put off at the last moment the shifting of the ailing president, who is still reported to be in ICU in a hospital in Sharm al-Sheikh in view of his “unstable heart conditions”.
Mr. Mubarak and his two sons were ordered detained for 15 days by the Prosecutor General pending investigations into accusation of corruption and abuse of authority.
Military sources quoted by al Jazeera said Mr. Mubarak was being shifted from Sharm al Sheikh to Cairo. It remains unclear whether the deposed president will be sent to a hospital or to prison.
The Pan-Arab news agency said that army helicopters which had arrived in the Red Sea beach resort to shift him to Cairo, left empty as Mr. Mubarak’s health was reported to be unstable.
They haven't been referred to court yet because investigations are still ongoing," the source told Reuters, adding that the prosecutor has established technical committees to investigate documents and papers presented regarding their assets. He said no date had been set for any appearance
State television reported that Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal would appear before a Cairo court on April 19 for questioning, with the Prosecutor General’s office saying that ongoing investigations were into allegation of corruption, squandering of public money and abuse of authority for personal gain.
The state television did not divulge further details about Mubarak’s health or about the investigations. It quoted the director of the Sharm al Sheikh hospital Mohmmad Fathallah as replying that the former president’s health was “somewhat improving”.
Despite being in precarious health conditions, the toppled president appeared to have little sympathy in the capital. Though Cairo’s famous cafes were abuzz with the news of his and his two sons arrests, there were no kind words or tears shed for him, BBC reported.
The channel said that thousands had gathered outside the hospital where he was lying, shouting slogans against him and calling that he be put on trial and they clashed with handful of pro-Mubarak people.
In the iconic Tahrir Square, the protesters have widely welcomed his detention and said the trial should be taken to conclusion.
Semi official newspaper Al Ahram reported that there was “great popular joy” at the decision to detain Mr. Mubarak and his sons.
An independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yom said that during interrogations the former strongman had denied ever giving an order for protesters to be attacked
The incarceration of the Mubarak brothers came as their father was formally placed in detention at his hospital bed in Sharm el-Sheikh, under suspicion of corruption, fraud and ordering the killing of peaceful protesters.
Egyptians have become accustomed to old realities being turned upside down, but as celebrations erupted over the arrest of this former political giant of the Middle East, questions are being raised about what comes next, and how the arrest will affect the volatile landscape of Egyptian politics as the nation shudders towards democracy.
Investigators have 15 days to question the 82-year-old and his sons, before prosecutors decide whether to bring charges and force the Mubarak family into the dock.
The arrest of Mr Mubarak has been a key demand of protesters. Many analysts believe the latest moves against the Mubarak family are a politicised bid to mollify angry demonstrators, who have recently shifted their attention to the titular head of the military, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, a long-serving Mubarak-era minister.
''I seriously doubt that after all this the Mubaraks will be released,'' said Ragia Omran, a human rights lawyer and pro-change activist. ''There's been a lot of anger in the Egyptian street over the demands of the revolution not being met, and the ruling generals have arrested the Mubaraks in an effort to calm the people. To let them go now would be political suicide.''
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