Al-Masry Al-Youm has obtained official documents proving that Mohsen Shaalan, head of the Culture Ministry’s arts department, had written to Farouk Abdel Salam, supervisor of the Culture Minister’s office, requesting LE40 million with which to upgrade surveillance cameras and alarm systems at Egypt's art museums.
The ministry, however, allocated only LE500,000 for Shaalan, who is currently being held along with four other officials for 15 days pending investigation into the recent theft of a Van Gogh painting from Cairo's Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum.
On Tuesday, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni reportedly met with Egypt's attorney-general. Sources close to the ministry, however, did not know whether the minister had been summoned to provide testimony in the theft case or if he had gone of his own accord.
”Any minister could be subjected to such a situation,” said Hosni, in reference to recent requests from certain quarters for his resignation.
Shaalan, along with four museum security personnel at the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil museum, face charges of "negligence in the performance of their duties."
Van Gogh’s famous "Poppy Flowers" painting was stolen on Saturday at midday. The museum’s security system was apparently not functioning at the time of the theft.
The suspects, for their part, dismissed the accusations of negligence and dereliction of duty, which museum officials say has resulted in severe financial losses. Defense lawyers, meanwhile, have called for the suspects' release.
The defense based its request for the release of Shaalan on the lack of justification for precautionary detention, noting that interrogations had already been conducted and the fact that Shalaan had a declared residence from which he could not flee. Defense lawyers also pointed out that Shaalan has been barred from travelling abroad by orders of Prosecutor-General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud.
Defense lawyers also stressed that Shaalan’s health condition and advanced age necessitated his release.
Preliminary investigations have so far revealed that Shaalan had maintianed a permanent headquarters on museum premises. In 2006, he received a mandate from the Culture Minster to run all the museum’s financial and administrative affairs.
Investigations also found, however, that Shaalan had failed to carry out his responsibilities in relation to museum security and had been delinquent in replacing faulty surveillance cameras and alarms despite having had access to the necessary finances.
Shaalan was also found to have failed to follow up on implimentation of a direct ministerial order in 2008 to entrust construction company Arab Contractors with the museum's renovation. Shaalan, investigators found, had been remiss in transferring museum exhibits to alternate locations until planned restorations had been finished.
In a related development, Egypt plans to set up a "security operations room" to monitor all the country's museums, Supreme Council for Antiquities head Zahi Hawass told the Bloomberg news agency.
In the wake of the theft, Hosni had formed a committee to review overall security at the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum, Hawass added.
The committee will “review all current measures used to secure works of art, along with what is needed” to ensure museum security, said Egypt's antiquities czar. The committee would work in tandem with the National Security Agency to train museum personnel, he added.
The Culture Minister has reportedly ordered the closure of three other Egyptian museums following the recent theft due to inadequate security.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, have reportedly notified international police agency Interpol to look for the missing painting.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
