Mubarak to Life Prison, His Sons Acquitted
An Egyptian court sentenced the former President Hosni Mubarak to life in prison on Saturday after convicting him of involvement in the murder of protesters during the uprising that ousted him last year.
Also given a life term for the killings was Mubarak's former interior minister Habib al-Adly, while six former police commanders were acquitted.
Corruption charges against Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, were dropped due to the expiry of a statute of limitations.
Mubarak was acquitted in one of the corruption cases.
Scuffles broke out soon after the verdicts were delivered, and chants of "Void, void" and "The people want the judiciary purged" could be heard.
"I want nothing less than the death penalty for Mubarak. Anything less and we will not be silent and the revolution will break out again," said Hanafi el-Sayed, whose 27-year-old son was killed in the first days of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011. He had travelled from Alexandria for the trial.
Lawyers inside the courtroom were furious over the acquittals, and told AFP they feared that Mubarak and Adly would be found innocent on appeal.
The former strongman, wearing dark classes and a beige tracksuit, showed no emotion as Judge Ahmed Refaat read out the sentence.
His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, looked tired with dark circles under their eyes.
Clashes erupted out outside the court following the sentencing, as police used stun grenades to control the crowds.
State television showed Mubarak arriving at the court on the outskirts of Cairo in a helicopter from the military-run hospital where he has been held in custody.
He was transferred to a white ambulance on a stretcher, wearing sunglasses. He had his arms behind his head. A sheet covered the lower half of his body.
Piles of bound court papers were stacked next to the judges' bench, the television footage showed.
Source: News agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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