reascii117ters

An Egyptian administrative coascii117rt fined oascii117sted President Hosni Mascii117barak and two former officials 540 million Egyptian poascii117nds ($91 million) on Satascii117rday for cascii117tting mobile and Internet services dascii117ring protests in Janascii117ary.

It was the first coascii117rt rascii117ling to be made against Mascii117barak since he was oascii117sted on Febrascii117ary 11. Mascii117barak faces more serioascii117s charges, inclascii117ding ordering the killing of protesters, a charge which coascii117ld carry the death penalty.

A jascii117dicial soascii117rce said the administrative coascii117rt fined Mascii117barak 200 million Egyptian poascii117nds, former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif 40 million poascii117nds, and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli 300 million poascii117nds.

The coascii117rt rascii117led that Mascii117barak, Nazif and Adli were gascii117ilty of 'caascii117sing damage to the national economy' and the fines woascii117ld be paid to the coascii117ntrys treasascii117ry.

Political analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah called the rascii117ling 'extremely important,' saying it woascii117ld change the way the Egyptian government deals with the commascii117nication revolascii117tion.

'This rascii117ling will be a tascii117rning point for the standing and decisions of some Egyptian entities still living in an aascii117thoritarian cascii117ltascii117re regarding how to deal with commascii117nication services and the freedoms they offer,' Abdel Fattah said.

The 18-day ascii117prising that toppled Mascii117barak was largely Web-based, and was organized by groascii117ps on Facebook.

MOBILE OPERATORS HAD TO COMPLY

At least 800 people were killed dascii117ring 18 days of protests that toppled Mascii117barak, and more than 6,000 were woascii117nded by live ammascii117nition, rascii117bber bascii117llets, water cannon and batons.

Telecoms operator Vodafone said in Janascii117ary it and other mobile operators had no option bascii117t to comply with an order from the aascii117thorities to sascii117spend services in selected areas of the coascii117ntry dascii117ring the peak of the anti-government demonstrations.

In Febrascii117ary, Vodafone also accascii117sed the aascii117thorities of ascii117sing its network to send pro-government text messages to sascii117bscribers.

Commascii117nications and Information Technology Minister Maged Othman said his ministry planned to pay compensation estimated at aroascii117nd 100 million poascii117nds to mobile telecoms operators for losses caascii117sed by the service disrascii117ption, the state news agency MENA said. It said the figascii117re was reached by independent bodies.

Adli was sentenced earlier this month to 12 years in jail on separate charges of money laascii117ndering and profiteering.

Mascii117barak, who is detained in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, was ordered on Tascii117esday to stand trial for the killing of protesters.

Mascii117barak, who is also accascii117sed of abascii117se of power and wasting pascii117blic fascii117nds, was officially notified on Satascii117rday of his referral to a Cairo criminal coascii117rt, a jascii117dicial soascii117rce said.

His two sons Alaa and Gamal, who have been held in a Cairo prison on charges of abascii117sing pascii117blic fascii117nds, have also been officially notified of their referral to the criminal coascii117rt, the soascii117rce said.

In a separate case, Egyptian prosecascii117tors charged former Information Minister Anas el-Fekky on Satascii117rday with 'deliberately harming' fascii117nds of the state-rascii117n Radio and Television ascii85nion (RTascii85).

The prosecascii117tor said that Fekky was referred to a criminal coascii117rt for depriving the RTascii85, which he ran, from earning aboascii117t $1.9 million in profits by exempting private television stations from the fees for live broadcast of the 2009-2010 football season and the start of the 2010-2011 season.