Mubarak Verdict a Farce, Says Brotherhood Candidate

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate on Saturday denounced the verdicts in ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak's trial as a "farce" and demanded a retrial, in a statement on Twitter.

"Dr. Mohammed Moursi, the presidential candidate, describes the verdict as 'a farce' and demands a retrial with the necessary evidence for a just punishment," the Brotherhood said on its official Twitter account.

The Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood also called for mass protests.

Asked if the Islamist movement would be taking to the streets across Egypt in protest, senior Brotherhood official Mahmoud Ghozlan told Agence France Presse: "Yes. If the police commanders are innocent, then who killed the protesters."

Later, Moursi Saturday called on Egyptians to continue their "revolution" as thousands protested against a controversial verdict in Hosni Mubarak's trial.

Moursi, who faces Mubarak's last premier Ahmed Shafiq in a run-off on June 16 and 17, said protesters would guarantee a free election and the transfer of power from the ruling military.

"All of us, my brothers, must realize in this period that the continuation of the revolution, and the revolutionaries' staying put in their positions in the squares, is the only guarantee to achieve the goals," he said at a news conference.

Mubarak and his aides were accused of ordering and complicity in the deaths of some of the 850 people killed during the 18-day uprising that ousted the dictator on February 11, 2011.

Moursi pledged at the news conference to hold a retrial should he become president with evidence that would bring justice "for the souls of the martyrs."

The military which took over after Mubarak's ouster has said it would hand power to the winner of the presidential election.

"It is clear free elections and a real transfer of power will happen with the continuation of the revolution," Moursi said, adding that he himself would go to Cairo's protest hub of Tahrir Square after the news conference.

In a statement later circulated by his aides, Moursi called "on the great Egyptian people to continue their civilized, peaceful revolution to achieve their goals."

The Brotherhood, through its political arm which Moursi heads, won a majority in parliamentary and senate elections last winter.

It avoided confrontation with the army and even criticized anti-military protesters during deadly clashes last November, deeply embittering the revolutionaries who had spearheaded the revolt against Mubarak.

But after Shafiq's surprise showing in the first round, coming second to Moursi by a few hundred thousand votes, the Brotherhood has begun courting the revolutionaries to shore up support for Moursi.