Mubarak verdict on June 2; aide given 7 years

A Cairo criminal court yesterday sentenced ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s former chief of staff to seven years in jail and fined him 36.4 million Egyptian pounds ($6 million) on charges of making illegal gains, the state news agency MENA said.
Zakaria Azmi has been held since April 2011 on charges of amassing wealth unlawfully. He is among several officials from Mubarak’s administration detained on corruption and other charges.
Mubarak, 84, himself faces a verdict on June 2 to determine whether or not he was involved in the killing of protesters during the revolt.
Azmi was put on trial in October, charged with illegal acquisition of funds. An aide to Mubarak since 1989, Azmi was considered an influential figure in the presidency and in the now-dissolved National Democratic Party.
He joins a host of former ministers and officials handed jail sentences following a sweeping investigation into corruption after the uprising that ended Mubarak's three decade rule.