Egyptian Army Denies Plans to Pardon Mubarak

Recent speculation that the Egyptian army would pardon ousted President Hosni Mubarak, was rebuked by army officials on Wednesday.
Egyptian Army Denies Plans to Pardon Mubarak
Egypt army spokesman Ismail Etman gives a press conference on March 28, in Cairo. The recent speculation that the Egyptian army would pardon ousted President Hosni Mubarak, was rebuked by army officials on Wednesday. (Khaled Desouki/Getty Images)
5/18/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/110959231.jpg" alt="Egypt army spokesman Ismail Etman gives a press conference on March 28, in Cairo. The recent speculation that the Egyptian army would pardon ousted President Hosni Mubarak, was rebuked by army officials on Wednesday.  (Khaled Desouki/Getty Images)" title="Egypt army spokesman Ismail Etman gives a press conference on March 28, in Cairo. The recent speculation that the Egyptian army would pardon ousted President Hosni Mubarak, was rebuked by army officials on Wednesday.  (Khaled Desouki/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1803898"/></a>
Egypt army spokesman Ismail Etman gives a press conference on March 28, in Cairo. The recent speculation that the Egyptian army would pardon ousted President Hosni Mubarak, was rebuked by army officials on Wednesday.  (Khaled Desouki/Getty Images)
Recent speculation that the Egyptian army would pardon ousted President Hosni Mubarak, was rebuked by army officials on Wednesday, according to a media report. Mubarak currently faces investigations for graft and abuse of power.

Mubarak, 83, is currently being held at a hospital in the Red Sea resort in Sharm el-Sheikh due to heart issues. His wife, Suzanne, was detained on suspicion of corruption and also had heart problems, reported AFP. She has since been released on bail after donating her assets to charity projects.

The rumor started when independent newspaper, Al Shorouq, claimed on Tuesday that Mubarak would address the public and ask for clemency, according to GulfNews. Al Shorouq cited what were called “military sources.”

The Al Shorouq report created a public uproar by people who want the former dictator to pay for years of corruption and oppression.

The Egyptian army, currently the country’s interim government, denies the Al Shorouq report and posted a message on its Facebook page to that effect. “The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces affirms that there is absolutely no truth in what was published by the media about the council moving to pardon the former President Hosni Mubarak and his family,” read the statement according to a translation by Reuters.

Independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yom reported that Suzanne Mubarak is planning to release a book called “The Story of Egypt’s First Lady and Her Grandson,” to be published by the American University in Cairo.