Prosecutor to appeal verdict on Mubarak

Egypt’s state prosecutor said yesterday he would appeal sentences handed down in Hosni Mubarak’s trial as hundreds of Egyptians occupied Cairo’s Tahrir Square after a night of rage. A judge sentenced Mubarak, 84, and his interior minister Habib al-Adly to life in prison on Saturday for the killings of protesters in last year’s uprising but also exonerated six police commanders. Mubarak—the only autocrat toppled in the Arab Spring to be put in the dock—could have been sent to the gallows as demanded by the prosecution. He was also cleared of graft charges. Yesterday, the ex-dictator was issued regulation blue prison uniform and guards at the Cairo Tora prison took his official mugshot and gave him his prisoner number, state news agency Mena reported. A tearful Mubarak, who enjoyed near absolute power for three decades, was flown by helicopter to the prison on Cairo’s outskirts after the verdict but then refused to leave the aircraft. Along with the six police chiefs acquitted, Mubarak’s sons Alaa and Gamal had corruption charges against them dropped on a technicality, prompting protesters to take to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and other Egyptian cities. The state prosecutor’s office said he had ordered “the start of the appeals procedure” against sentences in the trial, but did not clarify whether all the verdicts or just the acquittals would be appealed. The prosecution had asked for the death sentence against the ousted president and his security aides, but has been the target of criticism over its preparation for the case. Mubarak’s defence has also said it would appeal. Both the toppled dictator’s defence team and lawyers representing his victims said the life sentence verdict could easily be appealed, triggering fears among protesters that Mubarak could walk free. Around 20,000 people took to Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square on Saturday after the verdicts were issued. Some slept in tents or in the open overnight at the vast intersection, epicentre of the 18-day revolt that forced Mubarak to resign on February 11 last year. “We intend to stay today and possibly tomorrow. We expect a lot more people to come during the day,” said Omar Abdelkader, a young protester in Tahrir yesterday. “Many people had the feeling while listening to the verdict that we were back in the days of the old regime,” said another, student Feda Essam. The demonstrators erected a memorial depicting a miniature cemetery of gravestones and sand in tribute to the “martyrs” of the revolution. “Martyrs, we will not abandon you to the conspiracies of the old regime. In the name of your blood, there will be a new revolution,” read one banner. Saturday’s verdict came just two weeks before a presidential election run-off that will pit Mubarak-era premier Ahmed Shafiq against the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi in a highly polarised race. Yesterday, Shafiq tried to establish his democratic credentials and said his Brotherhood rival would bring back the “dark ages”. The ex-air force commander said Egypt under his leadership would respect human rights. “No one will be detained for their opinion... Security services will be committed to the law and to human rights standards,” Shafiq told a news conference. “I represent a secular state... the Brotherhood represents a sectarian state.” Shafiq said he would strive for a “modern, civil, fair state” while the Brotherhood will “take it to the dark ages”. Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabbahi and moderate Islamist politician Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, who came third and fourth respectively in the first round of elections, were meeting yesterday to try to consolidate their positions ahead of the run-off, sources said. Earlier, Shafiq offices were attacked in two provincial towns, a security services official said. On Saturday after the verdicts, the Brotherhood’s Mursi said the revolution must continue. “All of us, my brothers, must realise 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 told reporters before joining the crowds in Tahrir Square for around 15 minutes.  Chants of “Void, void” and “The people want the judiciary purged” erupted after the sentencing. There were similar protests in Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast, and other parts of Egypt, where many were in shock at the police chiefs’ acquittal.