Egypt arrests former information minister

Egyptian authorities yesterday arrested the country's former information minister and the chairman of state TV and radio on corruption allegations, the latest moves by the country's ruling military against senior officials of Hosni Mubarak's ousted regime, security officials said. Authorities also referred to trial two former cabinet ministers and a one-time top official of Mubarak's political party. They'll face corruption charges, the security officials said. Yesterday's arrests of Anas Al Fiqqi, the ex-information minister, and Osama Al Shaikh, the state TV boss, were widely expected. Al Fiqqi was placed under house arrest earlier this month and Al Shaikh was banned from travelling abroad on Wednesday, steps that often precede a criminal investigation or a trial. Al Fiqqi was a trusted aide of Mubarak and his powerful, one-time heir apparent son Jamal. Under his and Al Shaikh's stewardship, state TV persistently discredited the young organisers of the 18-day uprising that forced Mubarak to hand power to the military after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule. The security officials said the Al Fiqqi investigation looked into the fate of £2 million (about Dh11.89 million) he collected in donations to support a film festival in Cairo. On Wednesday, an angry crowd of hundreds taunted three former high-ranking members of Mubarak's regime when they arrived in court for a corruption hearing, screaming "thieves" and "you robbed our money". The three former officials who appeared in a Cairo Criminal Court — ex-housing minister Ahmad Maghrabi, former tourism minister Zuheir Garana and steel tycoon and prominent ruling party leader Ahmad Ezz — wore white prison uniforms and sat in a metal cage as a judge issued a ruling blocking any commercial dealings in their properties.