Former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak Cleared of Arab Spring Protester Murders
Ex-president cleared of plotting to kill hundreds of demonstrators during 2011 protests
Former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak has been acquitted of plotting the kill protesters during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising following a retrial.
The deposed president was accused, along with seven others, of conspiring to kill hundreds of protesters during the demonstrations which ended his three-decade rule.
Of the 846 protester deaths Mubarak, his interior minister Habib el-Adly and six other aides were accused of being involved in, only 239 were considered by the court, the judge said.
Mubarak, 86, was also cleared of a seperate corruption charge involving gas exports to Israel, he faced along with his sons Alaa and Gamal.
Mubarak will not be released from prison after been cleared of the murder charges, as he is currently serving a three-year sentence for embezzlement of public funds.
The former president was convicted in June 2012, but was awarded a retrial after his life sentence was overturned on a technicality.
Nearly 170 police officers and security officials who put on trial in connection to the killings have either been acquitted for lack of evidence or because they were found to have acted in self-defence. Others were handed short or suspended sentences.
Mubarak's successor, Mohammed Morsi, was ousted after only a year in charge following the country's first free presidential election.
He was replaced by army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who is said to have dropped criticism of the Mubarak regime from Egypt's media.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.