Egypt braced for verdict of Hosni Mubarak

Donnerstag, 31. Mai 2012

Egypt braced for verdict of Hosni Mubarak

Egypt is braced for a new round of street violence as relatives of those killed in last year's revolution demand the death penalty for their one-time dictator Hosni Mubarak when a verdict is handed down in his trial on Saturday.

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak a 'man with clean hands'

Saturday's scheduled hearing is the climax of a drama

Relatives of the “martyrs of Tahrir Square” told The Daily Telegraph they did not believe the former president’s trial was fair and said they would reject a lenient sentence.

“I was happy when Mubarak was first put on trial, but now I don’t have any trust,” Ali Hassan, 50, whose son Mohab, a 20-year-old computer science student at one of Egypt’s leading universities, was shot dead by police.

“Now I have no doubt that he will get a light sentence or nothing.”

He and other relatives warned there would be trouble outside the special courtroom set up in the Cairo police academy – once named after the defendant – when the verdict was given.

That could easily spread to Tahrir Square, particularly as activists are already calling for demonstrations.

The army is preparing for trouble in what will be the first test of the end of Egypt's state of emergency, which has been in place since 1981 but expired with little notice on Thursday.

The country's interim rulers, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, did not apply to parliament for an extension of the emergency law, imposed after the assassination of Mr Mubarak’s predecessor Anwar Sadat, which allowed authorities to detain people without charge and try them in emergency security courts.

If Cairo escapes riots after the verdict, there will be a second chance for the young revolutionaries to test their new freedoms with the second round of the presidential election on June 16-7.

Ahmed Shafiq, a Mubarak ally, will face Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, a choice that means that either winner will be bitterly opposed by a majority of the electorate.

Saturday's scheduled hearing is the climax of a drama – many of the millions of Egyptians gripped by its twists and turns call it a farce – that began with Mr Mubarak being wheeled into the courtroom on a hospital trolley on August 3 last year.

There have been suggestions that the interim government of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will order a postponement until after the presidential elections are complete, but so far officials say it is going ahead as planned.

If found guilty, Mr Mubarak could face any sentence from the death penalty to a few years under house arrest in hospital.

The prosecution demanded death for the most serious charge, that Mr Mubarak and Habib al-Adly, his interior minister who is also on trial, were complicit in the murder of hundreds of protesters and other civilians shot dead by police as protests against his rule gathered steam in January last year.

Mr Mubarak, along with his two sons Gamal and Alaa, also face corruption charges, for which lengthy jail terms could be imposed.

Amir Salem, one of the lawyers representing victims' families, said it was impossible to predict the outcome – even supposing, as most people do, that the panel of three judges will consult closely with the military beforehand.

"The military council are leading the country like rats through a maze," he said. "The judicial system is now under the control of the military. For me it is clear that the court by its procedures and behaviour are making a political decision."

A string of witnesses – including members of the council and former aides – testified on their former boss's role in the failed attempt to put down the uprising. It made for an extraordinary spectacle for Egyptians, for whom the ruling generals had been untouchable for half a century, but ultimately disappointed them.

Without exception they agreed they had never heard either Mr Mubarak or Mr Adly give explicit orders to open fire.

Instead, prosecutors are relying on the argument that as commander-in-chief and interior minister, no order could have been given without their agreement.

Relatives fear the generals will forbid a harsh sentence for the man whom they served for 30 years – and on whom their own advancement depended. If he is not acquitted immediately, many believe a common conspiracy theory that he will be given a tough sentence only to have it reversed once the election results are in.

"I believe in the conspiracy theory," Mr Hassan said. He and his son were both among the crowds of demonstrators pressing towards Tahrir Square in the street battles that broke out on the "Day of Rage", Friday January 28.

He sent his son back home to Shubra, just north of the city centre, after the army was called in. But instead Mohab joined a separate march, which was fired on by police.

Two of his friends died instantly. He died in hospital from wounds to his chest.

"I hope Mubarak gets the death penalty, not only because he killed my son but also because he corrupted the political and economic life of Egypt," he said.

For many, even a stiff prison term will not be harsh enough.

Badya Ibrahim, whose 30-year-old brother Mohammed was killed outside a police station, said nearly all the individual police officers already tried for shooting protesters had been acquitted.

"It's all just a show," she said. Mohammed's mother, Mahasen, said: "Mubarak should be hanged. But I long ago lost any hope that this would be his sentence."

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Donnerstag, 31. Mai 2012