(Photo By: Mohamed Omar\ DNE File)
The Cairo Criminal Court on Saturday refused a request for release by the sons of former president Hosni Mubarak, Gamal and Alaa, state-owned MENA reported.
On 13 January the Court of Cassation ordered the acceptance of all appeals in the Mubarak trial and ordered the retrial of all defendants in the case, including Gamal and Alaa. The Mubaraks have been under preventive detention since 13 April 2011.
Both are being charged for their role in seizing and facilitating the seizure of public funds from the state budget to enhance their villas and personal property, despite the funds being exclusively intended for the presidential palaces.
Homeland Security prosecution are responsible for investigating the case and presented evidence gathered over a six month period that suggest that the Mubaraks have been using the public budget, exclusive to the presidency, to renovate their private real estate properties spread around Egypt since 2002.
The court refused the appeal due to the prosecution still investigating the case and new evidence surfacing. The prosecutor had previously heard witness testimonies from the contractors responsible for the renovation, the private engineer and Hosni Mubarak’s secretary.
