Mubarak's sons and aides to be separated in prison

Feb 5, 2012, 18:07 GMT

Cairo - Key figures in the regime of former Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak, including his two sons, are to be separated across five different prisons, Egyptian Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim announced on Sunday.

The decision was made in response to public pressure, state television reported.

Some Egyptian lawmakers and Mubarak opponents believe that the former politicians, held in a prison near Cairo, may be behind an upsurge of violence, including the deadly football riot earlier this week.

They include Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, who are being tried on charges of graft.

They also comprise former interior minister Habib al-Adli and ex-chairman of the upper house of parliament Safwat al-Sherif.

A parliamentary committee, tasked with investigating causes behind the country's worst-ever football tragedy, said on Sunday the incident had been 'professionally' planned.

Seventy-four people were crushed to death in a stampede Wednesday night when fans attacked them following a football match in the northern city of Port Said.

According to the initial findings, reported by Egyptian television, the committee said the floodlights of the stadium had been mysteriously switched off following the game 'for the first time at a night match.'

Several protest groups are accusing the military rulers of having orchestrated the incident, and inciting chaos in the country, to prolong their grip on power.

Others, including the influential Muslim Brotherhood, blame Mubarak loyalists for the disaster.

In the aftermath, clashes erupted between anti-government protesters and the police, killing 12 people across Egypt, according to government figures.

In Cairo, a fragile truce prevailed Sunday after four days of sporadic street battles between the protesters and security forces, said witnesses.

Seven people have been killed in the clashes since they flared up on Thursday.

The two sides accepted the truce negotiated by clergymen and lawmakers to end clashes near the Interior Ministry headquarters in central Cairo, said the witnesses.

Thousands of protesters, mainly football fans, had rallied against the police guarding the Interior Ministry headquarters, attempting to seize the building.

Earlier on Sunday, unknown arsonists torched a government building adjacent to the Interior Ministry headquarters, reported state television.

Footage on the broadcaster showed flames of fire rising from the building, housing tax agency offices.

The fire, the second to hit a government building in three days, was put out, according to the report. No casualties were reported.

The junta, that has been ruling Egypt since a popular revolt forced Mubarak to step down last February, has pledged to transfer power to an elected civilian administration by July.

An advisory council set up by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on Saturday recommended February 23 as the opening date for the registration of candidates for presidential elections.

The SCAF had initially proposed registration by mid-April for the elections due to take place in mid-June.

Opposition activists have been calling for collective acts of civil disobedience to pressure the military to speed up the transfer of power.