Egyptian authorities on Wednesday banned a former prime minister and a former cabinet minister from leaving the country, a move that often precedes a criminal investigation and a possible trial, state television reported.
Prosecutors imposed the travel ban on Atef Obeid, who served as premier from 1999 to 2004, and Farouq Hosni, a long-serving former culture minister. The restrictions also cover the former head of state TV and radio and nine businessmen deemed to have close ties to the government of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
The restrictions are the latest legal measures taken by Egypt’s new military rulers against stalwarts of the former government. After a popular uprising, Mubarak stepped down Feb. 11 and handed over power to the military.
Last week, authorities arrested former interior minister Habib al-Adli, former housing minister Ahmed Maghrabi and former tourism minister Zuhair Garana. All three are under investigation for corruption and had previously been banned from traveling abroad. Their assets were also frozen.
The protesters who ousted Mubarak in 18 days of demonstrations often mentioned far-reaching corruption in the government as a principal grievance.
Also Wednesday, hundreds of low-ranking police officers set fire to parts of the security headquarters in central Cairo after four days of protests to demand better salaries, a security official said. He said the protesters hurled firebombs at the building, setting parts of it ablaze.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
The official said soldiers tried unsuccessfully to disperse the crowd by firing in the air.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that the officers numbered about 500 and that most of them had been dismissed and were demanding their jobs back.
The statement said that some of them set fire to a car parked outside the headquarters and that the blaze spread to eight other vehicles and the building. It said that the protesters tried to prevent fire engines from reaching the blaze but that the army forced them to open the way.