Mubarak's wife suffers heart attack after arrest

Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, suffered a heart attack Friday after learning that prosecutors had ordered her detention in a broadening criminal probe into the source of the family’s wealth, Egyptian state television reported.

The former first lady, 70, was being treated in the intensive care unit at Sharm el-Sheikh Hospital in the Sinai resort town, to which her family fled after a popular uprising led to her husband’s ouster three months ago.

A report on the Web site of the government-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) said the former first lady would be detained for 15 days as the investigation into allegations of corruption continues. Her husband and sons have been remanded in custody for a month on similar detention orders.

Suzanne Mubarak became an influential figure in Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, serving as the public face of many of the government’s social and welfare programs.

The MENA report said prosecutors ordered her detention because they suspect she obtained “illegal wealth using her husband’s position and political authority.”

(The Washington Post, 14 May 2011)

vocabulary

prosecutors	legal representatives who officially accuse someone of committing a crime, especially in a court of law
detention	arrest
probe	a thorough and careful investigation
intensive care unit	the part of a hospital that provides continuous treatment for patients who are seriously ill
resort	a place where a lot of people go on holiday/vacation
uprising	revolution; rebellion; revolt
ouster	removal; the act of removing or forcing somebody out of a position
first lady	the wife of the president
detained	kept in custody; locked up
remanded	locked up or confined
in custody	in prison (while waiting for trial)
position	rank; status; social standing

Model sentences and idiomatic expressions with “uprising”:

• The government quickly put down the uprising.

• The uprising was quickly and brutally suppressed.

• an armed uprising against the government

• to crush/suppress an uprising

• a popular uprising (= by the ordinary people of the country)

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the following words:

1. detained 2. remanded 3. first lady 4. ouster 5. intensive care

1.    Mrs Mubarak fainted and was moved to . . . . . .

2.    Egypt’s former . . . . . is unlikely to leave medical supervision before 72 hours.

3.    Mrs Mubarak was told she would be . . . . . for 15 days.

4.    Mr Mubarak was . . . . . for interrogation to answer accusations of financial corruption and ordering the killing of protesters.

5.    Egyptian protesters rejoice at Mubarak’s . . . . . .

Answer key: 1. intensive care 2. first lady 3. detained 4. remanded 5. ouster