Mubarak to Face Trial for Killing of Protesters
David D. Kirkpatrick
The New York Times
5/24/2011
CAIRO — Egypt’s top prosecutor on Tuesday ordered former President Hosni Mubarak to stand trial in connection with the killing of unarmed protesters during the 18-day-revolt that forced him from power, yielding to one of the revolution’s top demands just days before many of its organizers had vowed to return to Tahrir Square for another day of protest.
In a statement, Egyptian prosecutor Mahmoud Abdel-Meguid said he would also charge Mr. Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, with corruption and self-dealing. The prosecutor also plans to file charges against a businessman close to the family, Hussein Salem. Among other ventures, Mr. Salem was part owner of a company involved in an Egyptian government deal to sell natural gas to Israel that is now under investigation.
If Mr. Mubarak is convicted on the accusations, he could potentially face the death penalty.
The announcement of the trials on the eve of the four-month mark of the Jan. 25 revolution — which was made by a prosecutor Mr. Mubarak appointed, under the direction of an interim government headed by his former defense minister —is the clearest indication yet that the Egyptian authorities are moving to satisfy the public demand for retribution against the Mubarak family even before the parliamentary elections expected this fall…
The article continues at The New York Times.
Related: At Blazing Cat Fur: Conversion, Adultery, and Savagery Strike Egypt
“The true story behind the recent Islamist attacks on Egypt’s Copts—wherein over a dozen Christians were killed, hundreds wounded, and their churches torched—is as illuminating as it is sordid…”
