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Egypt's Ex-Prime Minister, Ex-Finance Minister to Face Trial


Then Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif speaks during a parliament session in Cairo last year (file photo)
Then Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif speaks during a parliament session in Cairo last year (file photo)

Egyptian judicial officials say former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and former Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali will face trial on charges of corruption.

Judicial officials alleged Sunday the two men misused public funds and cost the state about $16 million in lost revenue.

Officials have not yet set the trial date. The former prime minister is in detention. Boutros Ghali currently is abroad.

The upcoming trial is part of a sweeping probe into corruption during the rule of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Pro-democracy activists have stepped up pressure on Egypt's ruling military to try Mubarak and members of his government for corruption and other crimes.

Egypt's official Nile TV reports public prosecutors started interrogating the former president's sons, Alaa and Gamal, on Sunday.

Last week, prosecutors announced that Mubarak and his sons would be detained for 15 days as part of an investigation into corruption and abuse of power.

The former president was hospitalized with heart problems on Tuesday, interrupting a round of questioning, but state-run media say his health has since improved.

Mubarak says he is innocent of all charges of corruption and abuse of power. He stepped down as president on February 11 after being in power since his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated by Islamic militants in 1981.

On Saturday, an Egyptian court ordered the dissolution of the former ruling National Democratic Party, with confiscation of its assets.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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