Mubarak’s wife ordered detained

CAIRO — Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, suffered a heart attack Friday after learning that prosecutors had ordered her detention in a broadening criminal probe into the source of the family’s wealth, Egyptian state television reported.

The former first lady, 70, was being treated in the intensive care unit at Sharm el-Sheikh Hospital in the Sinai resort town, to which her family fled after a popular uprising led to her husband’s ouster three months ago.


A report on the Web site of the government-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) said the former first lady would be detained for 15 days as the investigation into allegations of corruption continues. Her husband and sons have been remanded in custody for a month on similar detention orders.

Suzanne Mubarak became an influential figure in Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, serving as the public face of many of the government’s social and welfare programs.

The MENA report said prosecutors ordered her detention because they suspect she obtained “illegal wealth using her husband’s position and political authority.”

The Mubaraks fled to the Red Sea resort city Feb. 11, after an 18-day popular uprising forced Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Since then, investigators acting at the direction of the country’s interim military leaders have been trying to ascertain the source of the Mubarak family’s wealth.

Rooting out the graft and cronyism for which Mubarak’s National Democratic Party became infamous was one of the demands of the leaders of the revolution.

The former president, 82, has been detained in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh since April 13, when prosecutors ordered his arrest. Officials have said they expect to move him to Cairo for interrogation when he is healthy enough to travel.

Hosni Mubarak has denied the allegations of corruption. He also faces charges stemming from the killing of demonstrators during the early days of the uprising.