Hosni Mubarak, two sons to face criminal trial for corruption, deaths of protesters

Egypt’s prosecutor general said Tuesday that former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons would face a criminal trial on charges of corruption and for the deaths of anti-regime protestors, the official agency reported.

MENA said that Mr. Mubarak, 83, and his sons Alaa and Gamal have been charged with “premeditated murder of some participants in the peaceful protests of the January 25 revolution.”

They have also been charged with squandering public funds and abuse of power for illicit gains.

The news comes after calls for large demonstrations last Friday that saw protestors demanding Mr. Mubarak and his family be tried along with calls for the emergency law to be lifted.

Last week, former Interior Minister Habib Al-Adly was sentenced to 12 years in jail for money laundering and corruption in the first trial of an official from Mr. Mubarak’s regime.

Mr. Al-Adly is also facing separate charges of ordering the use of live ammunition on protestors during the three-week demonstrations that saw the ouster of the former president.

About 800 protestors are said to have died during the January uprising in Egypt that resulted in the end of Mr. Mubarak’s 30 years in power.

Mr. Mubarak is currently detained in a hospital in Sharm El-Sheikh on account of his poor health and, according to the Justice Minister Abdel Aziz Al-Guidi, he will not be shifted to prison until his health improves.

Egyptians are demanding that he may tried for his crimes but a fair trial may prove difficult given the challenges the judiciary faces of having to work with existing laws put in place by the former regime.

Analysts also believe that Mr. Mubarak may still have influential supporters who do not want too transparent a trial in case incriminating evidence against former regime officials is revealed.

If convicted, Mr. Mubarak could face the death penalty.

(Muna Khan, Editor of Al Arabiya English, can be reached at [email protected])