Mubarak fined $33m. for cutting phones during protests
Ousted Egyptian president ruled to have "caused damages to national economy"; faces more charges which could carry death penalty.
By REUTERSMubarak 311 Reuters(photo credit: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah )
CAIRO - An Egyptian court on Saturday fined ousted President Hosni Mubarak and two former officials 540 million pounds ($90.64 million) for cutting off mobile and internet services during January protests, a court source said.It was the first court ruling to be made against Mubarak since he was ousted on Feb. 11. Mubarak faces more serious charges, including ordering the killing of protesters, a charge which could carry the death penalty.RELATED:Hosni Mubarak charged with murder in criminal courtEgypt's army says it has no plans to pardon MubarakA judicial source said the administrative court fined Mubarak 200 million Egyptian pounds, former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif 40 million pounds, and former interior minister Habib el-Adly 300 million pounds.The court ruled that Mubarak, Nazif and Adly were guilty of "causing damages to the national economy" and the fines would be paid to the country's treasury, the source said.At least 800 people died during 18 days of protests that toppled Mubarak, and more than 6,000 were injured by live ammunition, rubber bullets, water cannons and batons.Telecoms operator Vodafone said in January it and other mobile operators had no option but to comply with an order from the authorities to suspend services in selected areas of the country during the peak of the anti-government demonstrations.In February, Vodafone also accused the authorities of using its network to send pro-government text messages to subscribers.Mubarak, who is detained in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, was ordered on Tuesday to stand trial for the killing of protesters.Click for full Jpost coverage of turmoil in the Middle East
