Egypt judge puts ex-presidential candidate on travel watch list
Author: Nehal El-Sherif
Cairo (dpa) - Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafiq was on Wednesday placed on a travel watch list and would be arrested if he returned to Egypt.
Shafiq left Egypt to Abu Dhabi in June after losing the presidential election to Mohammed Morsi. He is wanted for questioning in connection with corruption cases.
Judge Osama al-Saeidi also issued a travel ban against Shafiq, a former air force chief who was appointed prime minister by Hosny Mubarak before his overthrow last year.
He is wanted in connection with the alleged illegal sale of 40,000 acres of state land to Mubarak's sons at reduced prices.
Another complaint accuses Shafiq of concealing evidence regarding the killing of protesters in last year's uprising.
Shafiq left to the United Arab Emirates, accompanied by his two daughters and three grandchildren.
Morsi won 51.73 per cent of the vote in the June 16-17 presidential runoff, beating Shafiq, who got 48.3 per cent of votes.
In another case, prosecutors charged Safwat el-Sherif - a former close aide of Mubarak - with corruption and abuse of office, state media reported.
El-Sherif was the secretary general of Mubarak's ruling party and the speaker of the higher house of parliament. He also served as minister of information for more than two decades, between 1982 and 2004.
He is accused of illegally owning property and land that belonged to the state, as well as of receiving gifts worth millions of Egyptian pounds from chief editors in the state media to keep them in their positions, prosecutors say.
El-Sherif is also charged with using his position to benefit the businesses of his two sons, who also face similar charges.
The date of the trial has yet to be announced.
This is the latest corruption case involving one of Mubarak's officials since the president was ousted from power last year.
El-Sherif, who is currently in jail, is one of 25 former officials and politicians charged with planning an attack on anti-government demonstrators using horse and camel riders in Cairo during the January 25 uprising in 2011.
