APRIL 2011

Sharaf sacks heads of state TV and radio after allegations they misled public opinion about the Tahrir protests during the revolution. Former TV newsroom head Abdel Latif al-Manawy is harshly condemned by protesters after he accuses them of being foreign agents. Nihal Kamal takes over as head of state TV and Ismail Al Shishtawy as head of Radio. 4  Egypt freezes the funds and bank accounts of several former key officials and their families. Among are ex-speaker of the Shura Council Safwat el-Sherif, ex-speaker of the People’s Assembly Fathi Sorour, former presidential chief of staff Zakaria Azmi and former housing minister Mohamed Ibrahim Suliman, along with their wives and children. The 25 January satellite channel launches with a party in Tahrir Square. Zakaria Azmi, Mubarak’s chief of staff for 22 years, is arrested on charges of using his position to amass a personal fortune. Egypt’s security forces shoot dead at least two protesters and dozens of others are wounded as the police attempt to clear Tahrir Square after an overnight demonstration which allegedly included defiant army soldiers. Maikel Nabil Sanad, arrested in March for criticizing the SCAF, is sentenced to three years in jail by a military court. Sectarian clashes break out in Saft El-Laban after rumors spread that Christians are attacking the village’s biggest mosque, Bilal. Several homes of Christians are subsequently stormed. Former speaker of Egypt’s Shura Council and NDP secretary general Safwat El Sherif is detained on charges of abuse of power and corruption. Talaat el-Sadat, previously a staunch opposition figure, is elected secretary-general of the National Democratic Party. Amid speculations about his failing health, ousted president Mubarak is hospitalized in Sharm El-Sheikh. Many question the timing of his hospital stay, which coincides with a summons for interrogation by prosecutors. Former President Hosni Mubarak and his sons are detained for 15 days pending investigation into charges of corruption and abuse of power. Sons Alaa and Gamal join other prominent NDP figures in Tora Prison, while Mubarak is placed under house arrest in the Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital. Right after news of the detention of the Mubaraks, Egypt’s main stock index rises by 1.07 percent. Egypt’s main index EGX30 ends the day down 1.4 percent, reaching 5.202 points while broader stock indices, the EGX70 and EXG100, also dipped 2.5 per cent and 2 percent respectively. The Supreme Administrative Court orders the dissolution of Egypt’s former ruling NDP and stipulates that its funds and assets be handed to the government. Former PM Ahmed Nazif and ex-ministers of interior and finance Habib El-Adly and Youssef Boutros-Ghali respectively, are to face trial on charges of corruption. A criminal court sentences Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass to a year in jail over a land dispute and removes him from his post. An administrative court decree keeping Hawass out of jail is issued the following day. The official fact-finding mission investigating the death toll during the uprising says that at least 846 people were killed and 6,467 injured during the 18 days of protests. 19  Prime Minister Essam Sharaf concedes to the demands of Qena residents to suspend Emad Mikhail, the newly appointed governor of Qena. For several days prior, the appointment of a Coptic governor had fueled sectarian strife, with protests closing down local road and rail traffic. A natural gas terminal is blown up in Sinai, forcing the shutdown of a pipeline supplying gas to Israel and Jordan. The Muslim Brotherhood, the popular Islamic movement long banned from politics, announces its intention to establish a political party, the Freedom and Justice Party. Further economic instability as exports topple by 40 percent. Import costs increase due to the rise in global product prices. The GDP stretches by 5.6 percent in the previous three months, according to government figures. Bucking the trend, Egypt lifts the ban on gold exports before the designated June 30 date.