An Egyptian court has dropped its case against former president Hosni Mubarak over the killing of protesters in the 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year rule and symbolised hopes for a new era of political openness and accountability.
Mubarak, 86, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators, sowing chaos and creating a security vacuum during the 18-day revolt, but an appeals court ordered a retrial.
His supporters erupted into celebration when the verdicts of that retrial – which also cleared Mubarak’s former interior minister Habib al-Adly and six aides – were read out. The defendants had denied the charges.
The verdict hit us like bullets
Supporters outside court, carrying pictures of the ex-air force officer who dominated the most populous Arab nation for three decades, far outnumbered families of protesters who died in the Tahrir Square revolt that had embodied the hopes of Arab Spring uprisings that spread through the region.
The judge said criminal charges should never have been brought against Mubarak in the case. The decision can be appealed, however, and the former leader was not freed as he is serving a three-year jail term in a separate embezzlement case.
Many Egyptians who lived through Mubarak’s rule view it as a period of autocracy and crony capitalism and considered it a victory to see him behind bars.
His overthrow led to Egypt’s first free election but the winner, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted last year by then-army chief Abdelfattah al-Sisi, following protests against his rule.
Sisi, who went on to win a presidential election in May, launched a crackdown on Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. Authorities have jailed thousands of Brotherhood supporters and sentenced hundreds to death in mass trials.
By contrast, Mubarak-era figures are slowly being cleared of charges and a series of laws curtailing political freedoms have raised fears among activists that the old leadership was regaining influence. Yesterday’s verdict was seen as the latest sign by activists the rights won in 2011 were being eroded.
“This is a political verdict. The judiciary has been procrastinating for four years so they could clear him after hope had been lost,” the father of Ahmed Khaleefa, 19, who was killed in 2011, told Reuters outside the court.
“The verdict hit us like bullets. I consider that my son Ahmed died today.”
A few dozen young people gathered to protest the verdict in the city of Suez, site of the first death of the uprising, but they were quickly dispersed by police.
Hundreds of people died when security forces clashed with protesters in the weeks before Mubarak was forced from power.
Othman al-Hefnawy, a lawyer representing families of protesters who died, said the verdict left open the question: if Mubarak, his interior minister and their security aides were not responsible for the deaths of 239 protesters, who was?