Ex-Egypt president Mubarak ‘not in Sharjah’, says UAE

Media speculation that a plane carrying ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak landed in Sharjah on Sunday has been rebuffed by the emirate’s Department of Civil Aviation.

The UAE’s state-run news agency confirmed that the former president, whose 30-year-rule of Egypt ended on Friday night, was not in Sharjah.

There is no shortage of speculation as to Mubarak’s whereabouts. The 82-year-old fled with his family to Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh just hours before stepping down, but his next move is unknown.

In his last address to the nation last Thursday, Mubarak pledged to “die on the soil of Egypt.”

Theodore Karasik, from the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, told Arabian Business there was still a good chance Mubarak could flee to the UAE.

“There is a 50 percent chance he would come here,” he said. “In the past, [the UAE] has been where exiles or leaders who are exiled from their countries come because it is known as a place where politics do not occur. It maintains security and stability.

“It is just not really clear what is going on,” he added.

On Sunday the Egyptian opposition newspaper Al Wafd Media said that the former President’s plane had landed at Sharjah International Airport.

The Washington Post also reported that Mubarak had flown to Sharjah before boarding a flight to Abu Dhabi where he spent the night before leaving for Germany. It was the same route described by the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm.

But Germany has denied the reports. “He’s not in Germany, and he's not on his way,” Steffen Seibert, the chief spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said on Sunday night.

“This is a new round of rumors. There is absolutely no information that we have about this, and it would require him a visa to come here. So presumably we would know.”

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shafik has said he is still in Egypt with his family.

Neighbouring Gulf state Saudi Arabia last month opened its doors to toppled Tunisian ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisia’s widespread protests are widely seen as the trigger for the current political unrest in the Middle East.