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Blood bags reopened

THE PROSECUTOR-general has contested the ruling by the Cairo Criminal Court which cleared the defendants accused of selling defective blood bags to the Ministry of Heath and Population, reports Reem Leila.

The appeal by Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud was filed last week in the Court of Cassation, and was based on what he deemed were mistakes in the application of the legalities of the trial and the testimony of witnesses.

The court is now in the process of studying the appeal.

In a statement issued last week, Mahmoud indicated that the circumstances surrounding April's verdict provided numerous bases upon which a revocation of the ruling could be considered in what became known as the Hayedelena case.

The ruling exonerated MP Hani Sorour, CEO of Hayedelena for Advanced Medical Industries Company (HAMIC), and company administrators for selling defective blood bags to the Ministry of Health and Population, as well as officials from the ministry.

HAMIC was accused of producing 300,000 defective blood bags, of which 37,000 were used. The remainder was confiscated. The bags were infected with bacteria and fungi that could have caused cancer and hepatitis.

Paramount among the ambiguities was the court's decision to perceive the defects in the blood bags as within the permitted parameters set by the law, something forensic reports issued on the case did not verify. The reports presented to court also indicated that the defects in the bags were not a result of poor storage but could only have come about through a fault in the production process.

The trial was initially handled by Judge Ahmed Ezzat El-Ashmawi who died while on the case. It was then referred to Judge Mustafa Hussein Abdullah who cleared all the defendants.

The prosecutor-general recently said there were suspicions of perjury in the trial, and more pertinently, the verdict to exonerate the accused was contradictory to the evidence presented in court. Additionally, investigations found violations in the licence granted to HAMIC to provide the bags. The Ministry of Health insisted that no harm had come from the blood bags which contained what they described "industrial defects". During the trial, Health Minister Hatem El-Gabali testified in favour of HAMIC.

Preacher attacked

THE WOMAN accused of attacking famed Islamic preacher Khaled El-Guindi will be remanded in custody for four days pending an investigation.

The general prosecution ordered on Monday that Taghreed Kamel be remanded in custody following the assault at the entrance of the Radio and Television building.

The attack occurred 11 June evening. As El-Guindi was getting into his car after the airing of his TV programme, Kamel rushed towards him, slapped him on the face and broke his eye-glasses.

During a three-hour investigation conducted by the prosecution, Kamel acknowledged the incident took place. She said she had tried more than once to talk to El-Guindi but added he did not respond. Kamel told prosecutors she had other motives for the assault but would not say what they were.

The prosecution ordered that Kamel be referred to a mental institution for a thorough examination.

El-Guindi denied having a relationship with the defendant, stating he had never met her.