Scuffles in court after Mubarak sentencing
- 12 years ago
ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
Hosni Mubarak, toppled by an uprising last year after 30 years ruling Egypt, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Saturday for his role in killing protesters after a trial that sets a precedent for holding Middle East autocrats to account.
But it was not enough for thousands of Egyptians who poured onto the streets after the verdict, many of them furious that senior security officials and Mubarak's sons, on trial with him, were not convicted.
Some wanted Mubarak executed, others feared the judge's ruling exposed weaknesses in the case that could let the former military strongman off on appeal.
The ruling came at a politically fraught time for Egypt, two weeks before a run-off in its first free presidential election that will pit the Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned under Mubarak, against the deposed autocrat's last prime minister. Mubarak was wheeled into a courtroom cage on a hospital stretcher to join co-defendants including his two sons Alaa and Gamal, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six security officials.
Refaat sentenced Adli to life in prison but acquitted the senior security officials for lack of evidence.
"Firstly, to punish Mohamed Hosni Sayyed Mubarak, to life in prison, for what he was accused in participating in the crime of killing protesters and this accusation is associated with intentional killing," said Refaat in reading out Mubarak's judgement.
The court also quashed charges against Mubarak's sons, relating to abuse of power and graft, but a new case brought against them this week for stock market fraud will keep them behind bars for now.
Businessman and Mubarak ally Hussein Salem, being tried in absentia, was acquitted of corruption charges.
After a silence during sentencing, scuffles broke out inside the court between security officers and people chanting "Void, void" and "The people want the cleansing of the judiciary".
It was the first time an ousted Arab leader had faced an ordinary court in person since a wave of uprisings shook the Arab world last year, sweeping away four entrenched rulers.
Rather than a healing experience that many Egyptians wanted, many saw the trial that acquitted top security officials as showing how much of Mubarak's old order was still in place.
Hosni Mubarak, toppled by an uprising last year after 30 years ruling Egypt, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Saturday for his role in killing protesters after a trial that sets a precedent for holding Middle East autocrats to account.
But it was not enough for thousands of Egyptians who poured onto the streets after the verdict, many of them furious that senior security officials and Mubarak's sons, on trial with him, were not convicted.
Some wanted Mubarak executed, others feared the judge's ruling exposed weaknesses in the case that could let the former military strongman off on appeal.
The ruling came at a politically fraught time for Egypt, two weeks before a run-off in its first free presidential election that will pit the Muslim Brotherhood, which was banned under Mubarak, against the deposed autocrat's last prime minister. Mubarak was wheeled into a courtroom cage on a hospital stretcher to join co-defendants including his two sons Alaa and Gamal, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six security officials.
Refaat sentenced Adli to life in prison but acquitted the senior security officials for lack of evidence.
"Firstly, to punish Mohamed Hosni Sayyed Mubarak, to life in prison, for what he was accused in participating in the crime of killing protesters and this accusation is associated with intentional killing," said Refaat in reading out Mubarak's judgement.
The court also quashed charges against Mubarak's sons, relating to abuse of power and graft, but a new case brought against them this week for stock market fraud will keep them behind bars for now.
Businessman and Mubarak ally Hussein Salem, being tried in absentia, was acquitted of corruption charges.
After a silence during sentencing, scuffles broke out inside the court between security officers and people chanting "Void, void" and "The people want the cleansing of the judiciary".
It was the first time an ousted Arab leader had faced an ordinary court in person since a wave of uprisings shook the Arab world last year, sweeping away four entrenched rulers.
Rather than a healing experience that many Egyptians wanted, many saw the trial that acquitted top security officials as showing how much of Mubarak's old order was still in place.