Hosni Mubarak 'interview' never happened, says his lawyer
Source: The Guardian
At Egyptian newsstands on Sunday, one paper sold faster than usual. It was the broadsheet al-Watan, which splashed with the dramatic tale of an intrepid reporter who burst from a crowded courtroom and through several lines of security to secure an interview with Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's ousted dictator.
The story marked Mubarak's first public intervention since 2011 – and it was worth the wait. Mubarak unexpectedly used the opportunity to argue that his successor Mohamed Morsi needs more time to effect change. "He is a new president," Mubarak apparently told al-Watan, "who has assumed heavy duties for the first time, and we should not judge him now."
It was quite the scoop – but for one small problem. Mubarak's lawyer claims the interview never took place. "The whole interview is a lie," Farid el-Deeb told state media on Sunday. "I talked to the president (Hosni Mubarak) and he confirmed he never spoke to the journalist."
The reporter in question, Mohamed Sheikh, was photographed next to a helicopter similar to the one that transported Mubarak between the prison and the courthouse where Mubarak is on trial for abuses committed during his 30-year reign. But the lawyer maintained the photographs were not of Mubarak's transport, that the story was a fabrication, and that Mubarak's alleged views were instead adapted from recent television appearances he himself had made.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/12/hosni-mubarak-interview-controversy
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