Egypt's ex-tourism minister jailed for corruption
Former Egyptian Tourism Minister Zuheir Garana, right, and steel tycoon and prominent ruling party leader Ahmed Ezz, left, wearing white prison uniforms, sit in a metal cage as they appear in the Cairo Criminal Court in Cairo. (February 24, 2011) Credit: AP
An Egyptian court on Tuesday convicted the country's ex-tourism minister of corruption and sentenced him to five years in prison, making him the second high-ranking official to be found guilty since President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
Zuheir Garana was found guilty of intentionally damaging public finances by allowing two businessmen to illegally acquire state land. The Cairo court also sentenced the two businessmen — in absentia — to five years in jail. The verdict can be appealed.
Garana's conviction is the second of some two dozen Mubarak-era Cabinet ministers and regime-linked businessmen who have been detained since the regime's Feb. 11 toppling. Among those in custody are former prime minister, the speakers of parliament's two chambers and Mubarak's two sons, also have been detained on suspicion of corruption.
Also Tuesday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement that investigators questioned Mubarak, 83, at his hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Prosecutor General Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud ordered Mubarak's detention extended for 15 days pending investigation of accusations of illegally amassing wealth and his role in the use of live ammunition against the protesters.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
