Mubarak detained for further 15 days

Protestors holding a poster of former president Hosni Mubarak chant slogans in support of Mubarak in downtown Cairo April 17, 2011. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

CAIRO - EGYPT'S state prosecutor has renewed the detention of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak for another 15 days amid a probe into a deadly crackdown on protesters and corruption, MENA news agency said on Friday.

Mubarak, who was forced to resign in February after mass protests, was first remanded into preventive custody for 15 days on April 13 on suspicion of involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters and corruption.

'The state prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmud decided to renew the detention of ex-president Hosni Mubarak for 15 days for questioning... effective when his last detention period expires,' the agency reported.

Mubarak is under detention in a hospital in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has lived since his ouster.

The report said that prosecutors had headed to the resort on Friday to further interrogate Mubarak.

There have been conflicting reports on his state of health and the reason he was hospitalised, but the state news agency on Thursday reported that the 82-year-old former strongman's health was 'unstable.' 

-- AFP