Hosni Mubarak was ordered detained for 15 days on Wednesday, winning the ruling army generals a respite from protests by quashing suspicions that they were shielding their former commander from investigation. Mubarak, driven from presidential office on February 11 by mass demonstrations against his 30-year rule, was taken to a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday with what state media called a "heart crisis".
Reports disagree on how serious his illness is. The public prosecutor had summoned and questioned Mubarak, 82, over the killing of protesters, embezzling of public funds and abuse of power. More than 380 protesters were killed in 18 days of demonstrations that led to Mubarak's downfall.
His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, have also been questioned as part of the probe and ordered detained, state television said. "Former President Hosni Mubarak was detained for 15 days for investigation," state television reported in a brief headline. Judicial sources confirmed the report.
In his first public comment since stepping down, broadcast on Al Arabiya on Sunday, Mubarak denied wrongdoing. A security source told Reuters Mubarak was likely to remain for security reasons in detention in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort where he has been in internal exile since quitting. A source cited by the official news agency MENA said the former president would be moved from the hospital to a place of detention once his health permits, but the site had yet to be determined. Al Jazeera television reported earlier that an army helicopter had arrived in Sharm to take him to the capital Cairo. A security source told Reuters "the helicopter has left without him because his health is unstable."
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