Court adjourns Mubarak’s appeal against fine in telecommunications case

The State Council administrative court adjourned on Saturday its review of the appeals presented by former president Hosni Mubarak, former prime minister Ahmed Nazif, and former interior minister Habib El-Adly in the trial known as “cutting telecommunications” to 24 December.

On 28 January 2011, during the first week of the 25 January Revolution, the authorities ordered that the telecommunications network be cut. Dubbed the “Friday of Rage”, the day witnessed a high number of casualties in a standoff between protestors and security forces.

In May 2011, the court ordered that a EGP 540m fine be paid by the three defendants, on charges of harming the state by cutting internet and telecommunications.

Al-Adly was ordered to pay the largest share at EGP 300m, followed by Mubarak with EGP 200m, and Nazif with EGP 40m. The court had also ordered them to pay the fine to the state budget from their personal budget.

The three former government officials’ appeal argues that the first-degree verdict of the fine is not related to the demands of those who filed the lawsuit. The initial lawsuit did not demand compensation to the state budget, but rather they demanded personal compensation for the financial damages that were inflicted upon them due to the incident.

The appeal report further highlighted that the documents submitted against the defendants in the case contain no proof of any financial damage inflicted on those who submitted the lawsuit, nor the extent and duration of these damages.

Nearly all urban citizens did not have access to communications, except landline phones, on 28 January 2011, causing a 90% drop in the data traffic to and from Egypt except for a few government offices and the stock exchange.

Source: Daily News Egypt