Mubarak denies corruption, abuses

Mubarak denied corruption and abuses in his first public speech after ouster. Has been summoned by state prosecutor.

Ousted Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak has denied charges of corruption and abuse during his time in power. He said that he will “defend his reputation”, before being issued summons by the state prosecutor.

In his first public comments since being ousted from power on February 11, Mubarak said that information sent to the public prosecutor would show he has no financial assets.

Details of bank accounts owned by his sons Alaa and Gamal would disprove any suspicions of profiteering and illegal gains.

"I will uphold all my legal rights to defend my reputation as well as that of my family both at home and abroad," Mubarak said in a recorded statement carried by Al Arabiya TV.  "I have been, and still am, pained by what I and my family are facing from fraudulent campaigns and unfounded allegations that seek to harm my reputation, my integrity and my military and political record."

He said he only had assets and bank accounts in one Egyptian

bank, as he had previously disclosed.

Reformers who drove the mass street protests that ousted the

autocratic leader of three decades have demanded tougher steps

to recover assets they say he and others took from the state.

Since he left office, Mubarak, 82, and his family have

stayed in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and Egyptian

officials have denied reports and rumours that he is very ill.

Mubarak and sons to be quizzed

Egypt's public prosecutor on Sunday ordered ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his sons to be questioned over violence against protesters and alleged corruption, MENA state news agency reported.

"The public prosecutor Abdel Magid Mahmud decided today to ask for the questioning of former president Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa," the official news agency reported.

Mubarak and his sons would be questioned about allegations and legal complaints that they were "connected to the crimes of assault against protesters, leading to deaths and injuries," said MENA. He would also be quizzed on allegations of graft, it added.

An estimated 800 people were killed in clashes with police and the former president's supporters during weeks of protests that led to Mubarak's resignation on February 11.

Sunday's announcement came hours after a pan-Arab television network aired Mubarak's first comments since he resigned on February 11 following weeks of anti-regime protests.

In the audio message, the 82-year-old complained he was the victim of a smear campaign. He pledged his assistance in a probe of his family's foreign assets, but his defiant tone in threatening lawsuits against the media angered Egyptians who have been pressing for his trial.