CAIRO: The wife of Egypt's ousted president was released from detention Tuesday after giving up assets but is still being investigated, said an official leading a probe into whether she amassed wealth illegally. Suzanne Mubarak, who denies charges that she abused her husband's influence for unlawful personal gain, was admitted to hospital Friday after suffering symptoms of a heart attack. She has been detained in the same hospital as her husband. Former president Hosni Mubarak, 83, is also being investigated for abuse of power, embezzlement and responsibility for the deaths of protesters during the 18 days of unrest that led to his overthrow on Feb. 11. He is still in detention. “Suzanne Mubarak was released pending investigations after she gave up her assets of 24 million Egyptian pounds ($4 million) to the state,” Assem El-Gohari, the head of the Illicit Gains Authority, told state radio. A state television channel and a local newspaper quoted media sources as saying Hosni Mubarak would apologize to Egyptians and would also return assets to the nation. But a military source told Reuters the report on Mubarak was not true. The report fueled speculation among Egyptians about the fate of the couple, who were both reported to have suffered heart problems just as they were about to be transferred to jail for questioning. Instead, both were held under guard in a hospital in Sharm El-Sheikh, where they had been living in a villa after Mubarak was pushed out of office. A judicial source had said earlier that Suzanne Mubarak would be released after posting bail, but the graft body said there was no bail. Some Egyptians said they were frustrated that the president's wife had been freed from detention, even if the investigation was still going on. “She should be detained. I know Egyptians have kind hearts ... but the state and the people have rights and it is an insult to the state if someone steals its money and gets released,” said Mansour Khalil, a textile factory owner in his 50s.
