- Europa & Middle East News - http://www.kawther.info/wpr -

15 Years Jail For Exporting Gas to Israel At Low Prices

On Thursday, June 26 2012 an Egyptian Criminal Court sentenced in Cairo to 15 years imprisonment each, former Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi and fugitive businessman Hussein Salem. According to  judicial sources, the sentences were handed down in the case of the exports of Egyptian natural gas to Israel at prices far below market.

Both former minister Fahmy and the fugitive Salem were figures of the former Mubarak regime. Both were very close to the former dictator and their sentences were due to corruption and harming the countries interests in the case of gas exports to israel at prices far below world market price levels. Mubarak himself was sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the killings of protesters during the uprising last year.

Hussein Salem is a fugitive from justice and currently lives in Spain as he has a Spanish passport. He was tried in absentia.