Egypt

Following suicide attempt, fugitive minister negotiates turning himself in

The psychiatrist of Youssef Boutros Ghali, the former finance minister who fled to London after 25 January, said that Ghali tried to take his own life twice, and that the British police are aware of that. The psychiatrist warned that he might attempt suicide again.

Sources close to Ghali said that he talked to a mediator to turn himself in to the Egyptian authorities, and that he is consulting with lawyers regarding his legal situation.

In June, Ghali was sentenced in absentia to 30 years imprisonment for deliberately squandering public funds by taking money from car owners whose cars were seized at customs in Cairo Airport. He was also sentenced for another 15 years for abusing power, and fined LE60 million.

Egyptian authorities are still coordinating with the INTERPOL to arrest him.

In related news, a report of the British Metropolitan Police found no traces of poison in the body of Ghali’s wife, Michele Sayegh, who died two weeks ago. The police attributed her death to a heart attack resulting from excessive stress, and ruled out criminal suspicion.

Ghali had accused a restaurant owner and the staff of putting poison in noodles that his wife had ordered, but the report, which was signed by three doctors, refuted such accusations, and the accused were released.

In her will, Sayegh left two thirds of her fortune to her three sons, and one third to her three brothers.

Translated from the Arabic Edition

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