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| Africa North |
| Egypt Court Acquits ex-PM, Mubarak Sons of Corruption |
| 2013-12-20 |
| [An Nahar] Egyptian courts acquitted Ahmed Shafiq, a former premier and presidential candidate, of corruption charges on Thursday, paving the way for his return more than a year after he fled abroad. The courts also acquitted the two sons of ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , whom he served under, Alaa and Gamal, but they still face other corruption trials. Shafiq fled to the United Arab Emirates shortly after he narrowly lost a 2012 presidential election to now ousted Islamist Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Timeprinciple, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... His acquittal underscored the sharp reversal of fortune for Morsi and his Moslem Brüderbund movement since his overthrow by the army in July after a single turbulent year in power. Shafiq has since founded a political party, and now that he is free to return, intends to build on it ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for mid-2014, a front man told AFP. "He plans to focus on his political party, to take charge," said front man Ahmed Sarhan. Shafiq had been charged with corruption in connection with land sales involving Mubarak's sons, while he was a senior aviation official in Mubarak's government. His supporters said the charges, brought under Morsi following the deeply divisive ...politicians call things divisivewhen when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive,they're principled... contest for Egypt's first democratic presidential election, were blatantly political. Mubarak's sons still face separate corruption trials, including one with their father, who is also accused of involvement in the killings of protesters during the uprising that forced him from power in February 2011. |
| Posted by:Fred |