Egyptian [Death] Toll Hits 88; Mubarak Vows Hunt (with graphic photos)

[-Cp]

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - Egypt's president vowed Saturday to hunt down terrorists who unleashed a rapid series of car bombs and another blast in this Egyptian Red Sea resort, devastating a luxury hotel and a coffee shop and killing at least 88 people in the nation's deadliest terror attack.

The early morning attacks, which used more than a half-ton of explosives, came just two days after the latest strikes in London and sent an already jittery world reeling again. At least 119 people were wounded, the Interior Ministry said.

With two extremist groups claiming responsibility, Egypt tightened security at other busy tourist sites like the Pyramids and Luxor, and the government and British tourist agencies sent large aircraft to the Sinai to fly home nervous tourists.

 

[waltky]

`possum thinks he gettin' ready to tap-dance outta town with all dat money...

Mubarak transfers powers to VP in Egypt
10 Feb.`11 — Vowing never to "succumb to any international pressure or dictations," President Hosni Mubarak said Thursday he will remain in office until elections but will transfer some powers to his vice president, Omar Suleiman.

As Mubarak's speech was projected on giant, white sheets in Tahrir Square thousands of angry demonstrators screamed "Leave, leave!" and "Get out!" Mubarak said the demands of protesters are "just and legitimate" and that he would lift emergency laws when security permitted. He said he had requested six constitutional amendments, answering one of the demands of the protesters. He also vowed to punish those behind violence over the past two weeks and offered condolences to the families of those killed.

A crush of thousands of people had streamed into the square on Thursday, beating drums and chanting amid conflicting reports that Mubarak would step down. State TV had reported that Mubarak was meeting with his vice president, and the army indicated Mubarak was stepping down. But Egypt's information minister, Anas el-Fiqqihas, later denied those reports. In Cairo's central square, where the protests began, demomstrators passed by tanks and barbed wire to join the masses assembling. People chanted "Bye, bye Mubarak!" and "Freedom!" in English. One soldier lifted a young girl out of the crowd to stand behind him on a tank as the people passed by.

Egypt's military had announced on national TV that it had stepped in to "safeguard the country." The dramatic events came on the 17th day of an historic uprising of the Egyptian people that has captured the world's attention in a movement that played out over the Internet and on television. Before Mubarak's speech in Tahrir Square, people from all walks of life jabbed their hands into the air in V-for-victory signs shouting "God is great!" and waved flags as the military tried to keep order. After the speech the crowd turned angry and at one point it looked like demonstrator were going to march on the presidential palace.

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Egypt military accused of ‘torture’
Fri, Feb 11, 2011 - DETENTIONespite the military’s claims that it is neutral, human rights campaigners said hundreds, or thousands, have disappeared since the protests began

Egypt’s military has secretly detained hundreds and possibly thousands of suspected government opponents since mass protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak began, and at least some of these detainees have been tortured, according to testimony gathered by the Guardian. The military has claimed to be neutral, merely keeping anti-Mubarak protesters and loyalists apart. However, human rights campaigners say this is clearly no longer the case, accusing the army of involvement in both disappearances and torture — abuses Egyptians have for years associated with the notorious state security intelligence, but not the army.

The Guardian has spoken to detainees, who say they have suffered extensive beatings and other abuses at the hands of the military in what appears to be an organized campaign of intimidation. Human rights groups have documented the use of electric shocks on some of those held by the army. Egyptian human rights groups say families are desperately searching for missing relatives who have disappeared into army custody. Some of the detainees have been held inside the renowned Museum of Egyptian Antiquities on the edge of Tahrir Square. Those released have given graphic accounts of physical abuse by soldiers, who accused them of acting for foreign powers, including Hamas and Israel.

Among those detained have been human rights activists, lawyers and journalists, but most have been released. However, Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in Cairo, said hundreds, and possibly thousands, of ordinary people had “disappeared” into military custody across the country for no more than carrying a political flyer, attending the demonstrations or even the way they look. Many were still missing. “Their range is very wide, from people who were at the protests or detained for breaking curfew to those who talked back at an army officer or were handed over to the army for looking suspicious or for looking like foreigners even if they were not,” he said. “It’s unusual and to the best of our knowledge, it’s also unprecedented for the army to be doing this.”

More http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2011/02/11/2003495629

 

[waltky]

Shoulda got out while the gettin' was good...

Mubarak, family members barred from leaving Egypt
Wed, Mar 02, 2011 - Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been banned from leaving the country, as the government stepped up legal proceedings against him and his family.

Egyptian Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud also announced that all of Mubarak’s domestic assets would be frozen pending further enquiries. The measures extend to Mubarak’s wife and children — including his youngest son, Gamal, a former banker — and may be the prelude to a formal prosecution. A number of former ministers from the deposed regime have already been made subject to travel bans and asset freezes since Mubarak was forced out of office on Feb. 11, and many are now facing possible trial on charges ranging from corruption to the unlawful killing of protesters.

Until now Mubarak had seemed to be shielded from investigation by the ruling military council, a source of much anger among pro-change demonstrators who accuse army generals of cutting a deal with the former leader. “The decision to freeze Mubarak’s and his family’s assets in and outside Egypt is very important,” said Tarek Osman, an Egyptian writer. “Apart from appeasing the masses and emphasizing that the public prosecutor has a free hand, it sends a clear message to the remnants of the Mubarak administration that their attempts to exert influence in the next phase will not be tolerated — especially during the coming parliamentary elections.”

Given that most of the legal efforts against Mubarak-era ministers seem so far to have been motivated by political considerations, the decision to launch legal proceedings against Mubarak now suggests the generals are fearful that public opinion will not tolerate any leniency for the man who ruled Egypt for 30 years. “This latest move will not bear much weight on the country’s political landscape in the medium term,” Osman said.

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