Mubarak’s wife in hospital after arrest order

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Suzanne Mubarak, wife of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, has been hospitalized in the intensive care unit after suffering severe chest pains upon hearing the news that she had been ordered detained on corruption allegations.

The director of the hospital said she had a heart problem and was in unstable condition at the hospital in this Red Sea resort community, where her husband also has been hospitalized.

On Friday's detention order came a day after the 70-year-old former first lady was questioned for the first time since she was accused of taking advantage of her husband's position to enrich herself. The Mubaraks and other members of the former regime have been the subject of legal efforts to bring them to trial since the ex-president was ousted on February. 11 after a popular uprising.

A security official said Mrs Mubarak will remain in the hospital for the time being but was expected to be moved to a women's prison in Cairo.

Once a low-key first lady known for her focus on women and children rights, Mrs Mubarak had in the last decade become known as a powerful mover in Egyptian politics.

She was believed to be a strong backer of her son Gamal's efforts to succeed his father as well as another son Alaa's business activities. She was known to have a say in the promotion of senior officials, and liked to be called "Hanem," or "Madam," as institutions and schools carrying her name mushroomed in recent years.

Mrs. Mubarak was ordered detained pending investigation into charges that she and her husband amassed vast wealth, the state news agency MENA reported. It said she was asked about $3.3 million held in her name in one of the Cairo banks as well as a number of luxury villas.