CAIRO: Egypt’s top appeals court found former President Hosni Mubarak not guilty on Thursday of involvement in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year rule, the final ruling in a landmark case.
The trial of Mubarak, who was toppled in one of the tumultuous uprisings which shook the Arab world, captivated viewers as he appeared in a courtroom cage on charges ranging from corruption to complicity in the murder of protesters.
Mubarak was originally sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators during the 18-day revolt.
But an appeals court ordered a retrial that culminated in 2014 in the case against the aging leader and his senior officials being dropped. An appeal by the public prosecution led to Thursday’s final retrial by the Court of Cassation.
The court also rejected demands by lawyers of the victims to reopen civil suits. That left no remaining option for appeal or retrial, according to a judicial source.
Mubarak, 88, got into a helicopter after the verdict to return to the hospital in the leafy Cairo suburb of Maadi where he has already completed a three-year sentence in a separate corruption case — the only one in which he was convicted.
Mubarak acquitted of killing protesters
Mubarak acquitted of killing protesters
