By Toqa Ezzidin
Security forces arrested businessman Salah Diab, the founder of Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, and his son on Sunday, two days after general prosecution froze their assets along with other co-founders.
The press office of the Ministry of Interior told Daily News Egypt that the reason behind the arrest is still unknown, and they will issue a statement once they are informed.
Further, the privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that the reasons behind the arrest are still unidentified.
On the other hand, citing an anonymous security source, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported that they were arrested on charges of corruption.
Al-Ahram also reported that a security source said they discovered weapons and ammunition inside Diab’s house. The source also cited Diab as saying these weapons are for protection, after the January uprising.
Major General Tarek Nasr told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the arrest warrant was not issued by the Giza Security Directorate. Also, Colonel Abdel Wahhab Shaarawy, head of the Giza South sector, denied the sector’s role in the arrest.
The Prosecutor General froze Diab’s assets on Friday, along with other associates, including his wife and Mahmoud El-Gammal, who is Gamal Mubarak’s father- in-law, as well as 10 others.
Earlier investigations by public fund prosecutors charged Diab and other partners of illegally profiting from the ‘New Giza’ project and their investment company Sunset Hills and of involvement in squandering public funds.
According to an earlier report by state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, the Cairo Criminal Court set 10 November as the date for the first trial session.
