Mubarak Is Sentenced to Life in Prison

Posted on Jun 2, 2012

AP/Egyptian State TV

Hosni Mubarak sits stoically in a defendant’s cage as a judge reads his sentence.

An Egyptian judge sentenced former President Hosni Mubarak to a life term in prison Saturday for complicity in the killing of unarmed protesters during the uprising that ousted him from power last year. But corruption charges against Mubarak and his sons were dismissed, touching off anger and disbelief in the Arab street. —ARK

The New York Times:

... Lawyers critical of Mr. Mubarak warned that the verdict was vulnerable to appeal, with the judge stating clearly that the prosecutors had presented no evidence that either Mr. Mubarak or his top aides had directly ordered the killing of protesters. Instead, the judge, Ahmed Rafaat, found that Mr. Mubarak was an accessory to murder because he failed to stop the killing — which lawyers said would not meet the usual standards of proof for a murder conviction under Egyptian or international law.

Many said the verdict appeared contradictory because the judge had acquitted several lower-ranking security officials who would have been responsible for the police, raising questions about the chain of command. The judge also dismissed corruption charges against Mr. Mubarak and his sons on technical grounds, and by late afternoon thousands of protesters angry at the limits of the decision were pouring into the streets in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and elsewhere.

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