CAIRO // The prosecutor in the trial of Hosni Mubarak yesterday demanded the death penalty for the former Egyptian leader on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during last year's uprising against his rule.
Mustafa Khater, one of a five-member prosecution team, also asked the judge for the death sentence for Mr Mubarak's security chief and six top police commanders being tried in the same case.
"Retribution is the solution. Any fair judge must issue a death sentence for these defendants," said Mr Khater on the third and final day of the prosecution's opening statement.
Mr Mubarak's two sons, the one-time heir apparent Gamal, and Alaa, face corruption charges in the same trial along with their father and a close family friend who is a fugitive.
An 18-day uprising forced Mr Mubarak, 83, to step down on February 11. The military, led by a general who served as defence minister under Mr Mubarak for 20 years, replaced him.
Earlier in yesterday's hearing, the chief prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman said Mr Mubarak was "politically and legally" responsible for the killing of the protesters and charged that the former president did nothing to stop the killings that he was aware of from meetings with aides, regional TV channels and reports by his security agencies.
He said Mr Mubarak's security chief and co-defendant, the former interior minister Habib El Adly, authorised the use of live ammunition on orders from the then president.
"He [Mubarak] can never, as the top official, claim that he did not know what was going on," Mr Suleiman told the court.
"He is responsible for what happened and must bear the legal and political responsibility for what happened. It is irrational and illogical to assume that he did not know that protesters were being targeted."
Addressing Mr Mubarak directly, Mr Suleiman said, "If you had not issued these orders yourself, then where was your outburst of rage over the lives of your people?"
Testimonies by two interior ministers who succeeded El Adly, he said, pointed out that the defendant could not have given the order to use live ammunition against the protesters without Mr Mubarak's personal approval, said Mr Suleiman.
Mr Suleiman said Mr Mubarak told investigators he decided to step down after the military refused to intervene to "immediately and urgently" help the security forces contain the protests.
Mr Mubarak called out the army on January 28 - three days into the uprising and on the day when security forces disappeared from the streets in circumstances that have yet to be fully explained.
He "fully knew what was happening but he did nothing," said Mr Suleiman.
Another prosecutor, Wael Hussein, said that one of the six police commanders on trial - the former chief of the state security agency Hassan Abdel-Rahman - had personally given orders to allow inmates to escape from a string of jails across the nation during the uprising.
The escapees, who numbered in the thousands, have been blamed for a dramatic surge in crime since January 28, when almost all vestiges of state authority collapsed.
Most of the inmates have since been captured and returned to jail, but Egypt continues to suffer from rampant crime.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
more from Janine di Giovanni
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5