Breaking his silence for the first time since his departure, ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has gone public to defend his honor and declare that he did not steal billions from the country’s treasury.

In Cairo, meantime, state prosecutors have summoned Mubarak for an inquiry into charges of corruption and links to the violence that saw hundreds of protesters killed. –JCL

The Guardian:

Egypt’s deposed president Hosni Mubarak has denied he stole billions of dollars from his country’s coffers, in his first public address since he was removed from power by mass protests in February.

Mubarak said he would defend himself from any accusations of corruption, after a fresh wave of protests in Cairo in part to demand he be put on trial.

“I will uphold all my legal rights to defend my reputation as well as that of my family,” he said in a speech broadcast on an Arab satellite news channel. “I have been, and still am, pained by what I and my family are facing from fraudulent campaigns and unfounded allegations that seek to harm my reputation, my integrity and my military and political record.”

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