
Egyptian ex-president Mubarak sentenced to life
MIDDLE EAST UPRISING. Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison on Saturday, found guilty of ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that in the end swept him from power last year. The former interior minister also receives life sentence.
Mubarak was the first Arab leader to be tried by his own people in the country. State TV showed live images as an ambulance carried the 84-year-old Mubarak from the helicopter to the courtroom in a police academy that has been transformed into a courthouse, the Associated Press reported.
The verdict comes as political tensions are high ahead of a heated runoff for president that pits Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, against the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate Mohammed Morsi. Ali el-Genadi, whose son was killed while protesting, said he expected Mubarak to be acquitted by what he called a “politicized” judiciary.
“There is no justice in Egypt as long as it is being ruled by the same regime,” he said. “Nothing has changed.”