The trials and judicial hearings following the 2011 Egyptian Revolution were a series of legal moves to establish accountability regarding the actions of various Egyptian government officials and prominent businessmen.
A series of arrests and travel bans was imposed on high-profile figures following the ouster of the former president Hosni Mubarak's regime. The actions were based on several charges: causing the death of as many as 800 demonstrators; the injury of around 5,000 demonstrators; as well as embezzlement, profiteering, money laundering and human rights abuses. Notable figures arrested included Mubarak, his wife Suzanne, their sons Gamal and Alaa, former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly, former Housing Minister Ahmed El Maghrabi, former Tourism Minister Zoheir Garana, and the former secretary of the National Democratic Party for Organisational Affairs Ahmed Ezz. Arrest warrants were also issued for some public figures who had already left the country during the start of the revolution, mostly on charges of financial misappropriations. These included the former minister of trade and industry, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, and Hussein Salem, a business tycoon.
Mubarak's ousting was followed by widespread allegations of corruption against numerous other government officials and senior politicians. These included the former speaker of the Egyptian Parliament, Fathi Sorour, and the former speaker of the higher legislative body (Shura Council), Safwat El Sherif. Trials of the accused officials started on March 5, 2011, when the former interior minister of Egypt, Habib el-Adly, appeared before the Giza Criminal Court in Cairo. The trials of el-Adly and other public figures are expected to take a long time.
Background to the trials Allegations of corruption Political corruption in the Mubarak administration's Interior Ministry had risen dramatically due to the increased power over the institutional system necessary to prolong the presidency. The rise to power of prominent businessmen in the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), in the government, and in the People's Assembly (Egyptian Parliament) led to waves of anger during the tenure of Prime Minister's Ahmed Nazif's government. An example is Ahmed Ezz's monopolization of the Egyptian steel industry by holding more than 60 percent of the market share. American professor Alaadin Elaasar, a noted Egyptian biographer, estimates that the Mubarak family is worth somewhere between $50 and $70 billion. Within days of Mubarak's ouster, Gawdat al-Malt, head of the Central Auditing Organisation (CAO, public finance watchdog) during the last decade of Mubarak's rule stated that he had sent Mubarak, his cabinet, and parliament 1000 reports between 2004 and 2010 recording various infractions by the Nazif cabinet including embezzlement of public funds, misuse of state-owned land, and ignoring the public procurement law.
The perceptions of corruption, and its beneficiaries, being limited to businessmen with ties to the NDP had created a picture "where wealth fuels political power and political power buys wealth." The wealth of Ahmed Ezz, the former NDP Organisation Secretary, is estimated to be . The wealth of former Housing Minister, Ahmed el-Maghraby, is estimated to be more than . The wealth of former Minister of Tourism Zuhair Garrana is estimated to be . The wealth of former Minister of Trade and Industry, Rashid Mohamed Rashid, is estimated to be ; The wealth of former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly is estimated to be .
During the 2010 Egyptian parliamentary election opposition groups complained of harassment and fraud perpetrated by the government. As a result, opposition and civil society activists called for election reforms with changes to a number of legal and constitutional provisions.
In 2010 the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index report assessed Egypt with a CPI score of 3.1 (with 10 being clean and 0 being totally corrupt), based on perceptions of the degree of corruption from business people and country analysts.
Allegations of human rights abuses On March 5–6, 2011, numerous Egyptian State Security buildings were stormed by demonstrators after eyewitnesses reported that officials were shredding and burning documents which could potentially serve as evidence against government officials. Fires were simultaneously witnessed in a number of Egyptian State Security offices, including the Cairo Downtown office (Lazoghly), the 6 October city office, and offices in Damanhour, Nasr City, Marsa Matrouh and Alexandria. Large amounts of shredded and burnt documents were found in these state security buildings. The demonstrators reportedly found evidence to support the widely accepted allegation of human rights abuses by Egyptian State Security. Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported that the Damanhour office was perhaps the most panic provoking, as prison cells with electrocution equipment were found in close proximity to a secret graveyard.
Cases pertaining to public events Public disorder
Numerous incidents of public disorder occurred from the start of the uprising. On January 28 the police withdrew from the streets of Egypt following break-ins to a number of prisons. Prison guards allegedly allowed and aided the escape of inmates. On February 2, a day that was dubbed the "Battle of the Camel", pro-government activists on camel- and horse-back stormed Tahrir Square in Downtown Cairo, where anti-regime demonstrators had set up camp, attacking them with Molotov cocktails, stones, chipped marble, swords and other weapons. This confrontation resulted in the deaths of 91 demonstrators and the injury of several hundreds. The government appointed a fact-finding panel to investigate the cause of these incidents, headed by judge Adel Koura.
The prosecution reported that, upon examining the sites where demonstrators were shot at, empty bullet-casings were found on the rooftops of buildings surrounding Tahrir Square, including the American University of Cairo (AUC). The AUC was closed at that time and it is believed that armed officers and regime loyalists had stormed the buildings and shot at the demonstrators. A similar scenario was reported in the area surrounding the Ministry of Interior in Cairo, where demonstrators were shot at from its roof. On March 10 Ismail el-Shaer, the former security chief of Cairo, was interviewed by prosecutors regarding these incidents. This was followed by the arrest of former Egyptian deputy interior minister Adly Fayed, chief of state security Hassan Abdulrahman, and chief of central security Ahmed Ramzy. All three were placed in custody for 15 days beginning on March 11.
Interrogation started the next day. Al-Ahram reported that a CD containing recordings of telephone conversations between Habib el-Adly and Ahmed Ramzy was examined as evidence. Al-Ahram also stated that Ramzy received orders from el-Adly to use live ammunition against anti-regime demonstrators. Ramzy denied this, but admitted that he ordered the use of rubber bullets and tear gas. He also stated that el-Adly ordered the withdrawal of the whole police force from the streets on the evening of January 28 only after the Egyptian military assumed responsibility. Ramzy claimed that this decision was made to avoid further confrontation between the police and the public. His account was supported by statements from Adly Fayed.
Ismail El-Shaer was also investigated for allegations of ordering the use of weapons against demonstrators and for causing public disorder, which he denied. He was also accused of being the driver in the widely publicized "van incident", in which a police van intentionally rammed into a large group of demonstrators. El-Shaer denied that as well and stated that he was in his office at the time of the incident.
On the day following the arrest and initial interrogation of el-Shaer, Ramzy, Fayed and Abdulrahman it was announced that the fact-finding panel headed by Judge Adel Koura has submitted four reports to the Egyptian prosecutor-general. Koura refused to name any officials who might have been legally charged with causing the death of protesters, but stated that the police force is not permitted to use live ammunition without authorization from the interior minister, whose decision must be approved by the country's political leadership.
The events of February 2 also led to allegations that members of the NDP funded and coordinated the activities of the regime loyalists who attacked demonstrators in Tahrir. The investigations of the fact-finding panel confirmed that two MPs from the NDP were involved. Both were named by Al-Ahram as Youssef Khatab and Abdulnasser el-Gabri and they were arrested on March 10.
On March 21 the fact finding panel submitted its final report to the military council in charge of Egypt. Al-Ahram reported some of the findings from this report, including that 685 demonstrators were killed and approximately 5,000 were injured during the aforementioned events - 1,200 with eye injuries and many with head injuries, indicating that regime forces assaulted them with intent to kill. The report named a number of political figures, businessmen, and police officers as suspects in those incidents.
Cases pertaining to individuals Mubarak family
On February 28, 2011, Egyptian Prosecutor General Abdel Magid Mahmud put a freeze on the assets of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family and imposed a travel ban on them. Subsequently, the Egyptian government asked the U.S. government and the European Union to freeze the assets of the Mubaraks whilst investigating the widespread allegations of profiteering by Mubarak, his wife Suzanne, and their sons Alaa and Gamal. On March 6 Mohamad Hamouda, Mubarak's lawyer during his presidency, stated that he agreed to represent Mubarak on certain conditions, including that the Mubarak family inform him of their exact assets. Hamouda also stated that Mubarak will take legal action against The Guardian and The New York Times for defamation. On the following day Hamouda withdrew from legal representation for the Mubaraks citing his "discomfort" with the case. Hamouda stated that achieving justice in this case will be difficult and explained that he was given only three days to review evidentiary documents and, two days into this period, he had not yet received these documents from the prosecutor. Hamouda stated that another lawyer, Mourtada Mansour, would represent the Mubaraks. Cairo criminal court was scheduled to start proceedings in this case on March 8, 2011. On that day neither Mubarak nor his council appeared in court. The court reaffirmed the travel ban on the Mubarak family and upheld the decision by the prosecutor to freeze the Mubaraks' accounts, citing that there is sufficient evidence to suspect Mubarak and his family of profiteering and misappropriation of public funds. The Mubaraks were contesting the travel ban in appeals court, while a criminal court was to convene to consider the financial charges.
The general prosecutor, Abdel Magid Mahmud, ordered the financial assets inside Egypt of Mubarak and his family members to be frozen, Al Jazeera reported. On March 17, 2011, Senator John Kerry, head of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, officially confirmed the U.S. government had frozen assets worth $31 billion belonging to Mubarak, including property and bank accounts.
On April 13 the general prosecutor ordered the arrest of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his sons, Alaa and Gamal, for 15 days as part of an inquiry into the use of force and violence against pro-democracy demonstrators, and the charges of corruption.
On May 28, a Cairo administrative court found Mubarak guilty of damaging the national economy during the protests by shutting down the Internet and telephone services. He was fined ( approximately ), which the court ordered to be payable from his personal assets.