Egyptians react with dismay as former president is convicted on lesser charge and given sentence 'wide open' to appeal
Jack Shenker and Abdel-Rahman Hussein in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 2 June 2012
"Egypt's stuttering revolution has taken a dramatic new turn after Hosni Mubarak, the country's all-powerful dictator for 30 years, was sentenced to life imprisonment for enabling the massacre of protesters who rose up against his rule.
But initial euphoria at the historic verdict – the first time an Arab leader has ever been deposed, tried and convicted by his own people – quickly gave way to confusion and then fury on the streets as full details of the court judgement emerged......
Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, one of the human rights organisations monitoring the case, said the prosecution had been hampered by withheld evidence and a lack of support from state institutions, and predicted that a retrial was likely. "We are glad that Mubarak and his police chief did not walk free but extremely disappointed at the acquittal of six security officials and even more at the reason given for the acquittals, which is the lack of evidence linking them with the killing of protesters," he told the Guardian......"
No comments:
Post a Comment