Egypt’s Ex-President Mubarak Getting Ready for Rare Appearance

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seen at a court in Cairo in December 2018. (Reuters)
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seen at a court in Cairo in December 2018. (Reuters)
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Egypt’s Ex-President Mubarak Getting Ready for Rare Appearance

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seen at a court in Cairo in December 2018. (Reuters)
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak seen at a court in Cairo in December 2018. (Reuters)

Preparing the ground for a rare appearance by former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, his eldest son, Alaa, said on Monday that his father “would soon speak about some events that took place in the October 1973 war.”

Since he was toppled during the January 25, 2011 revolution, Mubarak has made very few public appearances and media statements. Among them was an interview with Kuwait’s al-Watan newspaper during which he spoke about his memories of the Gulf war.

In a Twitter post Monday, Alaa said his father, who ruled Egypt for almost 30 years, would speak for the first time since he was ousted from power. On the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, he will open up about his memories of the conflict, in which he participated as an Air Force Commander.

Mubarak, 91, and his two sons were sentenced by an Egyptian court for embezzling millions of dollars of state funds over the course of a decade.

The ruling deprives the former president from being decorated with medals or from having a state military funeral.

Alaa said the interview will air on Tuesday at 8:30pm Cairo time, providing a YouTube link where it can be accessed.

The 1973 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the Yom Kippur War, was a conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, by a coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, against Israel.

Egyptian television anchor Ahmad Sayyed had announced in March that he would release an interview with Mubarak on the “Masr Hayat” channel. However, he later apologized from broadcasting it, citing “technical conditions beyond his control."



Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
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Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)

Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike.

Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup, Reuters reported.

Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir".

"What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters.

Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists.

Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial".

Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices.

The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition.

Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party.

The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.