Mubarak Says 'Did Nothing Wrong' as Court Drops Murder Charge against Him
An Egyptian court dismissed Saturday a murder charge against Hosni Mubarak over the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising against him, sparking celebrations among supporters but fury from the former president's opponents.
Mubarak, who ruled for three decades until he was driven from office, was also acquitted of a corruption charge but will remain in jail on a three-year sentence in a separate graft case.
Seven of his security commanders, including feared former interior minister Habib al-Adly, were acquitted over the deaths of some of the roughly 800 people killed during the revolt.
Cheers broke out in the courtroom and Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal kissed his forehead when the judge read out the verdict in the retrial as the ex-president, 86, lay in an upright stretcher inside the caged dock.
Corruption charges against the sons were also dropped.
The usually stone-faced Mubarak, wearing his trademark sun glasses, allowed himself a faint smile after the verdict was read.
But relatives of those killed expressed dismay.
Dozens of protesters later gathered at an entrance to Cairo's Tahrir Square -- the hub of the revolt -- chanting "the people demand the toppling of the regime."
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 over the telephone.
He also praised his time in office, which was marred by police abuses and corruption, especially the decade before his overthrow.
Apparently referring to economic growth, he said: "The last 10 years showed more results than the 20 years before... and then they turned against us."
His lawyer Farid al-Deeb told Agence France-Presse the verdict was "a good ruling that proved the integrity of Mubarak's era."
Many Egyptians increasingly look with nostalgia to the stability of the Mubarak era in light of the turmoil that followed.
Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist who eventually succeeded him, was toppled by the army in 2013 following massive protests.
Mubarak's supporters leapt from their benches in celebration when the judge pronounced the verdict, chanting: "Say the truth, don't be scared -- Mubarak is innocent."
In a summary of its reasoning, the court cited witnesses -- all former security commanders -- saying the police did not use live ammunition against protesters during the deadliest day of the 2011 revolt.
Outside the court venue, a police academy on Cairo's outskirts, relatives of those killed were appalled at the verdict.
"It's an oppressive ruling. The blood of my son has been wasted," said Mostafa Morsi, whose son was killed outside a police station.
In the streets of Cairo, opinion was divided.
"Justice for the martyrs has been lost," said one woman in her 50s.
Others disagreed.
"There is no evidence against Mubarak. He was an honest president," said Mostafa Saed, a retired government worker.
Protesters during the revolt vented years of pent-up fury over police abuses and corruption by attacking and torching police stations across the country, leaving the interior ministry on the brink of collapse.
Chief judge Mahmud Kamel al-Rashidi, 63, suggested his ruling was made with a clear conscience.
"God will ask me 'what did you do in this world, and specifically what did you do as a judge,'" he told the court before pronouncing his verdict.
He said he dropped the murder charge because the prosecution should not have added Mubarak to the case initially made against his security chiefs.
A leading rights lawyer, Gamal Eid, said the prosecution had initially moved to place his security commanders on trial and included Mubarak in the case under public pressure.
"The court can distance defendants from a case who had not initially been among the accused," he told AFP.
During the uprising, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied daily demanding Mubarak step down. After he resigned, they continued to hold protests demanding he be tried.
Once-banished Mubarak-era officials have since made a comeback, using a backlash against former opposition figures blamed for the subsequent tumult.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab was a senior official in Mubarak's now-dissolved party. Mubarak's former military intelligence chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is now president, having been elected after deposing Morsi.
Police are waging a deadly crackdown on pro-Morsi Islamist protesters and militants, and Morsi is standing trial on several charges including taking part in jail breaks and violence during the anti-Mubarak revolt.
Source: Agence France Presse
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