Egyptian state TV reports that Mubarak is suffering from a serious health
problem and is being treated on board the helicopter, also refusing to
leave it on being transferred to prison.
*Live updates: Thousands take to Egypt street protesting 'political' ruling
in Mubarak case
*
**
*Ousted president Hosni Mubarak given life sentence for failing to prevent
killing of protesters. Follow Ahram Online's blow-by-blow account for
reactions to Saturday's verdict*
**
**
*Ahram Online , Saturday 2 Jun 2012*
1 / *2*
Gallery
Mubarak A woman reacts after a court sentenced deposed president Hosni
Mubarak to life in prison, outside the police academy where the court is
located in Cairo (Mai Shaheen)
<http://english.ahram.org.eg/Media/News/2012/6/2/2012-634742366343047242-304.jpg><http://english.ahram.org.eg/Media/News/2012/6/2/2012-634742366343047242-304.jpg>
Mubarak A woman reacts after a court sentenced deposed president Hosni
Mubarak to life in prison, outside the police academy where the court is
located in Cairo (Mai Shaheen)
<http://english.ahram.org.eg/Media/News/2012/6/2/2012-634742321889002282-900.jpg><http://english.ahram.org.eg/Media/News/2012/6/2/2012-634742321889002282-900.jpg>
Courtroom Hosni Mubarak, on a stretcher inside the defendants' cage
Related
Mubarak's historic trial for murder and corruption: A timeline
<http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/43473/NewsContent/1/0/43447/Egypt/0/Mubaraks-historic-trial-for-murder-and-corruption-.aspx>
Mubarak trial verdict Saturday: What could Egyptians expect?
<http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/43473/NewsContent/1/0/43346/Egypt/0/Mubarak-trial-verdict-Saturday-What-could-Egyptian.aspx>
I would keep Mubarak in prison forever: Brotherhood candidate Mursi
<http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/43473/NewsContent/36/0/43422/Presidential-elections-/0/I-would-keep-Mubarak-in-prison-forever-Brotherhood.aspx>
***14:02* Ahmed Shafiq's campaign denies Saturday that the runoff
presidential candidate suggested he might pardon Mubarak if he is elected
later this month.
We are eager to know who said that if Shafiq becomes the president he
will pardon Mubarak, his campaign said on its official *Facebook* page.
June's runoff elections pit Shafiq against Brotherhoods Mursi to become
the country's first post-Mubarak president.
Todays ruling favours Mursi, so you dont have to keep linking the
verdict with Shafiq, the campaign added.
On the contrary, if there were tougher verdicts today we would have
congratulated ourselves that Shafiq would be the president.
*13:53* Egypt's *state TV* reports that Mubarak is suffereing from a
serious health problem and is being treated onboard the helicopter.
*13:48 *Hundreds of protesters are marching in Alexandria, protesting the
trial's outcome. The protesters chant against the case's presiding judge:
"Ahmed Rifaat, you coward, how much did you sell the martyrs' blood for?"
Ant-SCAF and anti-judiciary mottos also pepper the air along the now
blocked cornice.
*13:39* El-Adly's lawyer, Essam El-Batawi, states that since the court
found El-Adly's six aides innocent the former interior minister should also
be found not guilty. El-Batawi explained that El-Adly's aides were in the
streets during the early days of Egypt's January 25 Revolution following
the minister's orders. If they are innocent then he didnt ask them to
shoot protesters, which makes him innocent as well, argues the defendant's
lawyer. "The officer in the field is the one who has the right to give
orders to open fire, accordingly I will appeal the current rule," El-Batawi
said in a phone interview with private television channel *CBC*.
Earlier Nader Bakkar, the spokesman of Al-Nour Salafist Party, announced
that today's rulings should be appealed. "Egyptians are filled with anger
and disappointment; why werent El-Adly's aides given the same sentence as
their boss," Bakkar
tweeted<https://twitter.com/naderbakkar/status/208861941945466880>in
Arabic.
*13:32* Ex-presidential hopeful and IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei
tweets<https://twitter.com/ElBaradei/status/208873097053478913>
:
"The past regime is putting itself on trial. The series for aborting the
revolution continues with the participation forces. God gives the time but
doesn't neglect" (translated from the Arabic)
Guardian stringer Ahmed-Rahman Hussein recieves news from martyr's families
in this tweets:
<https://twitter.com/ElFoulio/status/208872113484988416>"Father of
martyr Ahmed Mustafa dies from a heart attack after hearing the
verdict"
*13:24 *An update from Tahrir Square, where protests are heating up:
Hundreds of protesters are gathered in Tahrir Square in protest of the
court's verdict in the Mubarak trial. Protesters chant "False! The verdict
is false"; "I can hear a martyr's father crying: Who will bring me my
child's rights?" and "The people demand the execution of Hosni Mubarak."
In a disquieting flashback to the 18-day uprising, protesters are also
chanting, "The people demand the downfall of Hosni Mubarak."
Protesters have started to block entrances to the square by securing the
entrances with traffic barricades. Others have gathered at the Mohamed
Mahmoud Street entrance, which leads to the reviled Interior Ministry.
A number of protesters attempted to march down Mohamed Mahmoud Street
toward the ministry, but a group of other protesters formed a human shield
to block their passage to prevent possible violent confrontations.
*13:05 AFP *reports on Mubarak's arrival to Tora Prison:
Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak whose helicopter landed at Tora
prison in Cairo after he was sentenced to life in prison wept and refused
to leave the aircraft, a security official told AFP.
"He was crying and would not get out of the helicopter. Security officials
spent some time convincing him to get out," the official said. "He's now
convinced and will be entering the prison shortly."
*13:02* Below are three posts by Ahram Online Editor-in-Chief Hani
Shukrallah on *Twitter*, as he was following the ruling:
@HaniShukrallah
tweets<https://twitter.com/HaniShukrallah/status/208844346815029248>:
Message to police: kill & torture as you will; youll be charged with
investigating your crimes and be cleared for lack of evidence
@HaniShukrallah
tweets<https://twitter.com/HaniShukrallah/status/208844346815029248>:
Mubarak "historic" criminal case investigated by culprits, prosecuted by
defense, judged by Mubarak regime
@HaniShukrallah
tweets<https://twitter.com/HaniShukrallah/status/208842363395772416>:
Ruling on Mubarak & Adly easily shot down on appeal - Judge says no
evidence police killed protesters yet convicts two for ordering it!
*12:53* Prominent lawyer Amir Salem tells Ahram
Online<http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/43503.aspx>that politics and a
"scandalous" miscarriage of justice in the verdict of
Mubarak's "trial of the century."
*12:50* As some revolutionary groups call for protests around the capital
against the verdicts handed down to Mubarak, his sons, his interior
minister and six senior police heads, hundreds have already gathered in
Tahrir Square to vent their rage.
In Suez's Arbaeen Square, which witnessed the first death in last year's
uprising, hundreds of protesters including some of the families of the
'martyrs' are gathering to protest the verdict that many see as a political
one. "False verdict" chanted angry demonstrators, describing the ruling
that found six senior police officers not guilty of killing protesters
during the 18-day uprising.
*12:41* According to *Al Jazeera Mubashir Masr*, protesters are planning a
march on the Interior Ministry with an aim to burn the building down.
*12:32* Here is a video of Judge Ahmed Rifaat handing down the trail's
verdict:
It's a life sentence for Hosni Mubarak
*12:22 *Ahmed Abdel-Ati, media coordinator for Muslim Brotherhood
presidential candidate Mohamed Mursi, promised to pursue a retrial for
whoever betrayed the Egyptian people.
"Today's rule is disappointing to all of us," he said on the Freedom and
Justice Party (FJP) Facebook page, the political wing of the Brotherhood.
*12:15* Ahmed Aggour, 24, a protester outside the Police Academy, describes
the clashes the erupted after the trial's verdict was announced:
"There is a lot of anger here directed at the security forces, following
the verdict. A few moments ago a police car drove up and a group of around
4 to 5 people started hitting the car. Rock throwing began and then around
20 people were chased away by a few hundred Central Security Forces. Other
protesters here at the Police Academy, started asking why they were
throwing rocks as we are outnumbered. It has calmed down now but is still
tense.
Everyone here is extremely upset, they think the verdict is ridiculous - 25
years is not enough, we want the death sentence. At first people were
celebrating because they started cheering when they heard Mubarak's
sentence and so didn't hear that El-Adly's police aides and Alaa and Gamal
were acquitted. The news is sinking in - in particular for the martyrs'
families who are distraught. No one has been properly punished for the
deaths."
*12:07* One of Mubarak's defence lawyers speaks to *AFP*, stating they will
appeal and win:
"We will appeal. The ruling is full of legal flaws from every angle," said
Yasser Bahr, a senior member of Mubarak's defence team.
Asked if Mubarak was likely to win the appeal, Bahr said: "We will win, one
million percent."
*11:48* According *Al-Hayat TV*, judicial sources state that the
prosecution will appeal the acquittals.
*11:46* *AFP* reports: "Mubarak to appeal sentence: lawyer"
*11:38* Mubarak has arrived at Tora Prison after being transfered, under
the orders of Egypt's prosecutor-general, from the International Medical
Centre in Cairo.
*11:24 *Egypt's prosecutor-general has decided to transfer Hosni Mubarak
from the International Medical Centre to Tora Prison.
*11:20* Yasmine Walli, our correspondent on the ground, offers us an idea
of people's initial reactions to the court's rulings, as they were being
read aloud:
"As the judge announced the verdict on Mubarak, protesters and families of
the martyrs outside the court began chanting with utter joy "God is great"
and "Martyrs blood was not spilled in vain." People were hugging each other
with tears in their eyes, feeling elated and proud of the judiciary
system. But after the initial sentencing was announced, matters began to go
down hill for many standing outside. Violence soon erupted as Gamal and
Alaa Mubarak and the six senior police heads were acquitted. Families of
the martyrs soon began heatedly chanting, eventually clashing with the CSF.
Soon protesters began chanting for the purging of Egypt's judiciary while
pro-Mubarak activists began to leave the scene."
*11:08 *Here are some more *Twitter* reactions:
Sultan Al Qassemi
tweets:<https://twitter.com/SultanAlQassemi/status/208842886089932800>"Egypt's
next president will have the authority to pardon Husni Mubarak (if
the verdict remains in a court of appeal)"
Hossam Bahgat, mocks the court,
tweeting<https://twitter.com/hossambahgat/status/208844849556881408>:
"The court: who killed the protesters?" (translated from the Arabic)
ayman farag
tweets<https://twitter.com/aymanscribbler/status/208841534295113729>:
"So Mubarak's only crimes during his reign were committed at the end of his
30-year rule? And his sons stole the goods too long ago?"
*11:01* According Egyptian daily newspaper *Al-Shorouk*, a group of Mubarak
supporters outside the court have been arrested by the CSF for discharging
firearms into the air and smashing cars in opposition to the ruling.
*11:00 *Mubarak's chopper has left the Police Academy.
*10:58* Clashes outside the courtroom have stopped. Several protesters have
created a human shield between the anti-Mubaraks and the CSF.
*10:55* Here's a quick taste of reactions from *Twitter*:
Mahmoud Salem tweets
<https://twitter.com/Sandmonkey/status/208841872112758784>:
"#*Mubaraktrial*<https://twitter.com/search/%23Mubaraktrial> All
of the MOI officials are innnocent, Mubarak & his sons cleared of financial
corruption charges. fun fun"
Gigi Ibrahim tweets<https://twitter.com/Gsquare86/status/208839603271114754>:
"Adlys men out together with Gamal and Alaa under Shafiq is the nightmare
of the revolution. Dont tell me im panicking but this is BAD"\
Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and fellow
at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution,
tweets <https://twitter.com/shadihamid/status/208838380941881344>: "This
whole process is a reminder of everything that was lost during a horribly
mismanaged transition" and
adds<https://twitter.com/shadihamid/status/208840735955488769>"Initial,
fleeting satisfaction, followed by disappointment, and then
anger. The whole transition in a moment"
*10:45* The protest inside the court room is growing more heated, as
attendants of the session demand justice for the 'martyrs' of the
revolution. Protesters are chanting, "The blood of martyrs will never go."
They are also chanting against Mubarak-era minister and presidential
candidate Ahmed Shafiq.
*10:33 *The court room has turned into a scene of impassioned protest.
Chants of "False, False, False" and "The people demand the removal of the
regime."
A fight breaks out within the court room between pro and anti-Mubarak
supporters.
*10:32 *After Judge Rifaat finishes the sentencing, those present in the
court room are chating, "The people demand the cleansing of the judiciary."
*10:26* [Corrected] Hosni Mubarak is acquitted on all graft charges. The
ousted president's life sentence is for the first charge of failing to
prevent the killing of protesters.
*10:24* Gamal and Alaa Mubarak have been acquitted along with the six
senior officers on trial.
*10:23* *Habib El-Adly has also received a life sentence.*
*10:21 It's a life sentence for Hosni Mubarak. *
*10:18 *Yasmine Walli, Ahram Online's correspondent outside the Police
Academy, describes the scene outside the courtroom:
I'm standing outside the Police Academy, where people are protesting with a
very tangible rage. The scene is filled with families of the 'martyrs' and
anti-regime protesters. They are calling for justice, which they dont see
taking place.
"I expect Mubarak will be found innocent, the SCAF has stolen the
revolution and won't bring any justice," Abdel-Kareem, 27, the brother of a
martyr who lost his life on 28 January 2011 says. Protesters are holding
big banners with martyrs' pictures and some are raising their shoes as a
sign of protest. "Those responsible for killing my son should be killed,"
repeat many of the martyrs' families outside the courtroom.
*10:15 *The *Twitter*-verse is brimming with comments, many of which are
laden with sarcasm. Here's one response to Mubarak's journey from
helicopter to cage:
"We're dealing with a man here who wears sunglasses in an ambulance. Never
underestimate him,"
tweets<https://twitter.com/tomgara/status/208825128438607872>Tom Gara.
*10:02* Rifaat calls out the names of the defendants, who all answer that
they are present. The presiding judge then demands complete silence and
says that if any voice is heard the session will be immediately be
cancelled. He then proceeds, in a relatively long prologue to the trial, to
slam Mubarak's regime, saying that January 25 Revolution ended thirty-years
of darkness and tyranny. Judge Rifaat said that those who went out to
protest against poverty and oppression were peaceful protesters, chanting
"Peaceful" with empty stomachs.
Each defendant will be granted three minutes to defend themselves in front
of the court.
*9:58* Habib El-Adly, Gamal Mubarak, Alaa Mubarak and the ousted leader
have just entered the cage. The session begins.
*Along with the aforementioned figures, six of El-Adly's aides are also
facing charges. They've also been ushered into the cage. Here's a rundown
of who they are and what they're being charged:*
*Six other senior police officers, including four of Adly's former deputies
are being charged. They are Hassan Abdel-Rahman, deputy interior minister
and head of state security; Adly Fayed, deputy interior minister and head
of general security; Ahmed Ramzi, head of the Central Security Forces; and
Ismail El-Shaer, former director of security for Cairo.*
*The other two are interior ministry officials Osama El-Marassi and Omar
Faramawi, both directors of security for the Greater Cairo provinces.
Marassy and Faramawy are not charged with a role in killing protesters but
face charges related to damage caused to Egyptian property and the economy
as a result of their failure to anticipate the uprising and secure such
property during the protests. Neither man was detained during the trial.*
*9:51 Judge Ahmed Rifaat and the rest of the panel have arrived. No word on
their choice of apparel.*
*9:38 The ousted president, who is wearing a training suit with a biege top
and black trousers and a pair of sunglasses, is wheeled in, lying on a
stretcher and wheeled into the Police Academy. For those out there
following Mubarak's past fashion picks, the ousted leader was last wheeled
in wearing a blue training suit with light blue stripes...and sunglasses.*
*9:32 Mubarak's been staying at the International Medical Centre. According
to Reuters, it isn't exactly hard times for this jailbird:*
*"Hosni Mubarak has appeared in court lying on a stretcher during his
trial, where he faces a verdict on Saturday, but Egypt's former president
is living in a comfortable hospital where he is free to see relatives, walk
in the garden and exercise, news reports and a source said this week.The
newspaper depicted the 84-year-old Mubarak, ousted in an uprising in
February 2011, as a cosseted retired official, exercising and swimming as
doctors and family attend to his needs at Cairo's International Medical
Center (IMC).*
* *
*The account confirmed reports in other domestic newspapers in the past
months that have shown Mubarak, who is formally under arrest, as far more
healthy than he appears in the court room, where he lies on his back on a
stretcher.*
* *
*Mubarak occupies a large suite with adjacent rooms for visitors, a
swimming pool and a gym outfitted with the latest exercise equipment,
Al-Watan said in its report published on Tuesday. It said Mubarak had been
visited by Arab leaders of Gulf countries of Kuwait, Oman and the
UAE. "Mubarak is in excellent health. The former president will likely
remain with us even after the verdict comes out," the hospital source, who
has seen the former leader, told Reuters.*
* *
*The source said Mubarak was free to walk around the garden or swim in a
pool, and had a team of doctors including a physiotherapist. Mubarak also
received visitors from the Arab world and the ruling military council."This
is the best place for him. There is a plane and an airstrip at the hospital
to allow for safe movement," the source added."*
*9:31 Outside the academy, the sun's sweltering heat is forcing some
protesters to take refuge in the shade. A group of activists are holding
posters of martyr Khaled Said, who was killed by Mubarak's forces in June
2010. The brutal nature of Said's death and the gruesome images of his
corpse stoked mounting rage that erupted into countrywide protests on 25
January.*
*9:30 Mubarak's helicopter has just landed.*
*9:10 Karima Akra, one of the protesters at the Police Academy told Ahram
Online that he showed up today to support the 'martyrs' of the revolution.
However, he doesn't think that Mubarak will receive a heavy sentence.
Rather he will get a symbolic one while Habib El-Adly gets the toughest
sentencing.*
*Kamal Mohamed, whose son Fares died on 29 January, during the uprising,
said that he doesn't know what to expect today, but suspects that the trial
may be postponed again. He said that he is not happy with the way the
judiciary procedures have been conducted. However, he said that if Mubarak
doesn't get the sentence he deserves, people will vote for the Muslim
Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Mursi, because they don't have faith in
Mubarak era minister Ahmed Shafiq.*
*In an interview with the sister of the martyr Ehab, who died on 28 January
2011, "I believe there is no justice; if Mubarak was not the president, he
would have been executed long time ago," Nahayat Mohamed, 14, told Ahram
Online. Nahayat is planning to boycott the presidential elections run offs.*
*The families of the 'martyrs' and victims outside the police academy
waiting for the trial have set a ladder in the area on fire. The ladder is
the symbol of presidential candidate and former PM Ahmed Shafiq in the
Egyptian presidential elections*
*8:55 A handful of pro-Mubaraks have arrived at the police academy. They
are holding banners with "Hosni Mubarak is a legend" and "The most
honourable Egyptian is Mubarak." They are also chanting "Tell the poor
people, the Egyptian revolution was a hoax" and "Acquittal, acquittal."*
*8:30 Good morning. It's all talk of Mubarak and the trial this Saturday
morning, as the ousted strongman, who governed Egypt for 30 years before a
popular uprising toppled him last year, will hear a verdict today on
whether he is guilty of corruption and complicity in the killing of
protesters. Mubarak has not yet arrived at the court.*
*Thus far, Mubarak's two sons, Gamal and Alaa, have arrived at the Police
Academy's criminal court to hear the verdict of their trial. The two are
being tried along with former minister of interior Habib El-Adly and six of
his aides as well as Mubarak.*
*The ousted leader has been held in the International Medical Centre since
the trial began last August. He is expected to be flown to the academy
within an hour.*
*Today's historic trial sees Mubarak face two separate charges: the first,
for ordering the killing of protesters. Former minister of interior Habib
El-Adly and six of his aides are also charged for the same crime.*
*Mubarak and his two sons are further charged for taking bribes from
fugitive Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem.*
*Yasmine Walli, Ahram Online's reporter at the scene, says that there are
hundreds of army and Central Security Forces (CSF) securing the court.
Several tanks are also positioned in front of the court. Protesters, who
arrived early in front of the court, have been chanting against Mubarak,
calling for justice for the martyrs of the revolution and demanding the
execution of Mubarak.*
*Anti-Mubarak groups are also holding posters of some of the demonstrators,
who died during the 18-day uprising in January 2011.*
*Pro-Mubarak groups, which are usually present during previous sessions
have not yet arrived.*
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
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