Egypt ex-PM Shafiq to face trial on Dec. 2

Egypt will open a trial on December 2 of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak’s last premier Ahmed Shafiq who is wanted for alleged corruption, state media reported Friday.

Shafiq, who narrowly lost a June presidential election to Islamist Mohammed Mursi, is accused of corruption when he headed various aviation state agencies.

Shafiq, who left to the United Arab Emirates after the June election, will face trial with two other defendants -- a former aviation minister and an ex-head of the national EgyptAir carrier, the official MENA news agency reported.

Shafiq has previously insisted that the charges against him are politically motivated and pledged he would return to Egypt. He, however, faces arrest on arrival.

The trial will be the latest in a series of court actions that have jailed much of the former regime’s leadership, including Mubarak himself.

He is serving a life sentence for failing to prevent the killings of protesters during the early 2011 uprising that ended his rule. His sons too are in jail.