Protests after Mubarak acquitted
Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak waves at his supporters as he is being transported to a Cairo military hospital on November 29, 2014. An Egyptian court dismissed a murder charge against Hosni Mubarak over the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising on November 30, 2014. PHOTO | KHALED DESOUKI |
What you need to know:
- Mubarak, who ruled for three decades until being driven from office, was also acquitted of a corruption charge but will stay in jail on a three-year sentence in a separate graft case.
- Seven of Mubarak’s security commanders, including feared former interior minister Habib al-Adly, had also been acquitted on Saturday over the deaths of some of the roughly 800 people killed during the revolt.
CAIRO
An Egyptian court dismissed a murder charge against Hosni Mubarak over the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising, sparking clashes in Cairo between police and protesters that killed one person on Sunday.
Mubarak, who ruled for three decades until being driven from office, was also acquitted of a corruption charge but will stay in jail on a three-year sentence in a separate graft case.
The ruling enraged the strongman’s opponents, with about 1,000 converging on a central Cairo square to denounce the government.
A health ministry official said one person was shot dead after police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, resulting in scattered clashes.
Police arrested at least 100 protesters.
Seven of Mubarak’s security commanders, including feared former interior minister Habib al-Adly, had also been acquitted on Saturday over the deaths of some of the roughly 800 people killed during the revolt.
Cheers erupted in court and Mubarak’s sons Alaa and Gamal kissed his forehead when the judge read the verdict in the retrial as the ex-president, 86, lay in an upright stretcher inside the caged dock.
SAD VERDICT
The usually stone-faced Mubarak, wearing his trademark sunglasses, allowed himself a faint smile after the verdict was read. But relatives of those killed expressed dismay.
More than 1,000 protesters gathered at an entrance to Cairo’s Tahrir Square — the hub of the revolt — chanting “The people demand the toppling of the regime”.
They scattered into side streets when police fired tear gas and used water cannon. Gunshots could later be heard throughout central Cairo.
An appeals court had overturned an initial life sentence for Mubarak in 2012 on a technicality. Saturday’s verdict may also be appealed.
Mubarak, who was transported back to a Cairo Military Hospital where he is being held, appeared in a wheelchair from a balcony door to wave at several dozen cheering supporters.
“I did nothing wrong at all,” he told a private Egyptian broadcaster by telephone.
