Senior Judge Hangs Himself Amid Corruption Scandal
himself in custody on Monday a day
after his arrest in connection with an
investigation into a corruption case,
his lawyer said.
Wael Shalabi, secretary general of the
council of state, an administrative
court, was taken in for questioning on
Sunday, his lawyer Sayed el-Beheiry
told AFP.
After questioning him, prosecutors
ordered that he be detained for four
days pending further investigation, he
said.
Shalabi’s arrest came days after the
Administrative Control Authority
responsible for tracking corruption in
state institutions arrested the council
of state’s chief procurement officer,
Gamal el-Labban.
The public prosecutor’s office issued a
gag order on publishing details of the
case shortly after news broke about
Shalabi’s death.
“He faced a lot of pressure” during
interrogation on Sunday when he
“denied accusations that were directed
at him”, Beheiry said.
“He went to the bathroom, attached his
scarf to the water-heater and hung
himself.
“This is negligence on their part
because he was subject to
psychological pressure,” the lawyer
added.
An autopsy showed that Shalabi had
committed suicide, and an
investigation has begun, Beheiry said.
After Labban was arrested, Shalabi
submitted his resignation to the
council of state, and this was accepted
on Saturday.
Prosecutors had also ordered Labban’s
detention for four days pending an
investigation.
It is rare for Egypt to investigate
alleged corruption inside its judicial
institutions.
Watchdog Transparency International
ranks Egypt as 88th out of 168
countries on its corruption perceptions
index.
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