CAIRO // Hosni Mubarak appeared a different man as he was wheeled into court yesterday for the first day of his retrial.
Wearing fashionable sunglasses, the 84-year-old former president of Egypt appeared younger and more upbeat than in his previous court appearances. In past hearings, he lay almost comatose and was caught on camera picking his nose.
This time he waved to people in the courtroom while leaning on his chin in a relaxed and confident manner. His sons, Alaa and Gamal, smiled as scores of lawyers and journalists craned for a view of the former ruling family. It was all the more striking because Mubarak has been reported at times in the past two years to be on the verge of death and, at one point in June last year, in a coma.
The hearing lasted just 20 minutes after the judge announced he was stepping down.
The judge, Mostafa Hassan Abdullah of the Cairo Criminal Court, said he was referring the case to a lower court because he felt "unease" in reviewing the case and had an unspecified conflict of interest. Mr Abdullah was criticised last year by lawyers and activists for acquitting 21 Mubarak officials accused of organising the infamous "Camel Battle" during the uprising, in which attackers on horses and camels stormed Tahrir Square.
Immediately after Mr Abdullah read his statement, some lawyers in the courtroom began shouting: "The people demand the execution of the ousted president." Mubarak was whisked to a helicopter, which flew him to a military hospital in Cairo.
Mubarak and his former minister of interior, Habib El Adly, were sentenced last year to life in prison for not using their powers to stop the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising. But a court overturned the conviction in January, on the ground of procedural failings.
Taken together with reports of a flurry of activity at Mubarak's seaside villa in Sharm El Sheikh, the former president's new attitude suggests he may be expecting to be released from prison.
Mubarak has been in custody for two years as of yesterday, the maximum time someone suspected of a crime carrying a possible life sentence but who is not convicted should be detained, according to Egyptian law.
In what many saw as an attempt to keep Mubarak in prison, the prosecutor general announced on April 7 a new investigation into allegations that the Mubarak family misused funds meant for Egypt's presidential palaces, but it is not clear if that investigation will result in formal charges in the near future. For the time being, he can be held for an additional 15 days because of the new investigation.
All this raises the question: will Mubarak, dubbed the "Last Pharaoh" of Egypt and the only Arab leader to appear in court on trial in his own country, be released on bail?
Judge Adel Maged, the vice president of the Court of Cassation, said yesterday that if it were determined that he has been detained for the maximum amount of time under the Egyptian penal code he would be released on bail.
But one factor that could slow down or stop efforts by Mubarak's lawyers to obtain his release is a law issued last November. Law No 96 of 2012, also known as "Law for the Protection of the Revolution", created a special office within the public prosecution that is "entitled to reinvestigate and prosecute serious crimes committed during the revolution", Judge Maged said.
That office could issue new charges - including for the presidential palace fund allegations - that would prevent Mubarak from being released.
Nonetheless, it appears that Mubarak's supporters believe a release is, at least, possible.
Staff recently started cleaning Mubarak's villa and repairing equipment at the Jolie Ville Golf and Resort in Sharm El Sheikh, where Mubarak and his two sons each own a villa.
Mubarak frequently held court in Sharm El Sheikh, particularly in the past decade. He fled to there on February 11, 2011, the day he stepped down from office, but was arrested two months later. The hotel is owned by Hussein Salem, a business tycoon prosecutors accuse of corruption.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
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Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
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