Egypt's Ahmed Shafiq to be tried in absentia in December

Egypt will begin the trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's last premier, Ahmed Shafiq, on 2 December. Shafiq is wanted for alleged corruption, state media reported Friday. Shafiq, who narrowly lost a June presidential election to Islamist candidate Mohamed Morsi, is accused of corruption dating from when he headed various state aviation agencies. The case involves the illegal allocation of state-owned land to a company without offering it for tender, in addition to other alleged instances of handing out government contracts without putting them up for tender. Shafiq, who also served as aviation minister during the Mubarak era, was referred to court earlier in September to answer charges of presiding over the illegal sale of 40,000 acres of state-owned land to Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, the former president's sons. Shafiq, who left to the United Arab Emirates after the June election, will face trial with two other defendants: a former aviation minister and an ex-head of the national EgyptAir carrier, the official MENA news agency reported. He later revealed that he would remain in the UAE for "security reasons." Shafiq has previously insisted that the charges against him were politically motivated and pledged that he would return to Egypt. He, however, faces arrest on arrival. The upcoming trial represents the latest in a series of court actions that have seen many of the former regime's leadership imprisoned, including Mubarak himself. The ousted president is currently serving a life sentence for failing to prevent the killing of protesters during last year's Tahrir Square uprising that ended his rule. His sons, too, are currently in jail after being convicted of corruption-related offenses. From: Ahram Online