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 protestors, a charge
which could carry the death penalty.
A 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.
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