Mubarak gets life in prison for role in murder of protesters

PTI

Cairo, 02 Jun 2012: Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was today sentenced to life in prison after a court here found him guilty of complicity in the killing of protesters during a popular uprising against his 30-year rule last year.

 

84-year-old ailing former dictator, who was wheeled into the courtroom, got life imprisonment along with his former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly.

 

Six former police commanders were acquitted by the court, which also dropped corruption charges against Mubarak’s two sons Alaa and Gamal.

 

Over 800 protesters had been killed during the 18-day revolt following which Mubarak was ousted on February 11, 2011.

 

Handing down the sentence to Mubarak and al-Adly, Judge Ahmed Refaat said that the 10-month trial had been a fair one.

 

He said Egyptian people had suffered 30 years of darkness under Mubarak’s rule.

 

The Interior Ministry had taken special measures to secure the premises of the court, where the trial had taken place.

 

The wall around the police academy in New Cairo, a satellite city around the capital, had been raised to four metres in addition to another metre of barbed wire.

 

The court had also refused to issue any new permits to cover the trial and kept the coverage exclusive for state-owned TV.

 

After the verdict was announced, scuffles between rival groups erupted in the court.