Prosecutor General Tala’at Abdallah appealed the decisions to release Anas El-Feky and Safwat El-Sherif, politicians who served under ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
On Wednesday morning, Anas El-Feky received a release order from the Cairo Criminal Court, after he filed a complaint for remaining in preventative detention a period longer than the one allowed by law in criminal prosecutions. The decision was appealed later in the day by Abdallah, state-owned news agency MENA reported.
El-Feky served as minister of information under ousted President Hosni Mubarak and is accused of squandering public funds along with Osama El-Sheikh, the former head of Maspero, state-run TV. El-Feky was detained in February 2011 and sentenced to a seven year prison term which was vetoed by the Court of Cassation on 17 December. He is set to be re-tried by the Cairo Criminal Court.
Similarly, Safwat El-Sherif had received a release order on Tuesday morning, after he filed a complaint for remaining in preventative detention for a period longer than allowed by law for criminal prosecutions. El-Sherif was set to be released on a bail of EGP 50,000.
He was being investigated for making around EGP 300m in illicit gains by amassing fortunes that are incompatible with his legitimate sources of income. His sons are accused of the same charges.
The decision for his release was also appealed by the prosecutor general, on Tuesday. The Cairo Court of Appeals will set emergency sessions in the Cairo Criminal Court to look into both of Abdallah’s appeals, separately.
On Tuesday, El-Sherif, was also ordered up to 15 days of preventative detention, just hours after he got the release order, MENA reported.
The prosecution ordered his detention after a new complaint was filed against him for committing financial violations, when he served as Minister of Information. El-Sherif is accused of giving direct orders and damaging public funds to help a company which belongs to his son.
El-Sherif denied the charges and his lawyer demanded to postpone the investigations until Saturday, so that he has the chance to see the complaint brought against El-Sherif.
Both El-Sherif and El-Feky are considered members of the old guard. El-Feky was minister of youth under Mubarak before he became minister of information.
EL-Sherif was former speaker of the Shura Council under the rule of Mubarak and was the secretary general of the infamous National Democratic Party.
He is among the accused of orchestrating the Battle of the Camel, a deadly attack on Tahrir Square, which took place during the 2011 Revolution. He was acquitted along with the rest of the defendants.
