Egypt’s Former VP Interrogated as Mubarak Confirmed ‘Complicit’

Former Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman is being questioned in connection with violence against protesters during the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, the general prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

Suleiman, long-time chief of intelligence, was questioned about "information held by the intelligence services on the events of the January 25 revolution," the prosecutor's office said.

He was asked about "the killing of protesters during peaceful (anti-regime) protests and over the wealth of the former president and his family," it said, without elaborating.

Mubarak, who ruled Egypt since 1981, named Suleiman his first ever vice president on January 29 in a bid to placate the growing protest movement.

MUBARAK COMPLICIT

Meanwhile, Judge Omar Marwan, the official commission's secretary general, confirmed that Egypt's ousted leader Hosni Mubarak was complicit in the shootings of anti-regime protesters as he tried to face down a popular revolt.

Mubarak was speaking at a news conference after the release of its report's summary, which said 846 civilians died in the protests that led to Mubarak's ouster in February. Twenty-six policemen were also killed in the 18 days of unrest, the report said, adding that police used excessive force against demonstrators and shot at people trying to film the events from balconies and windows.

"What is confirmed is that Mubarak's permission (to use live fire on protesters) must be obtained. The shooting lasted for several days, and he did not hold accountable those who fired live rounds," Marwan said. "That confirms his involvement in responsibility," he said.

The report found that most of the dead had been shot in the head and chest, which indicated the use of snipers. Marwan said that snipers from a counter-terrorism unit belonging to the now dissolved State Security apparatus were deployed against protesters.

Mubarak was remanded last week to 15 days' preventive custody in hospital, on suspicion of involvement in the deaths of protesters. No formal charges have yet been laid against him.

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