Egypt: Life Imprisonment for Mubarak

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.

The world watched as an Egyptian court sentenced former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and his Interior Minister Habib Al Adly to life imprisonment today for their role in the killing of protesters. The trial took 49 sessions, 250 hours and spanned 60,000 pages, tweeted Sultan Al Qassemi, quoting judge Ahmed Refaat.

The historic verdict was broadcast live, prompting netizens to post reactions online as the court session progressed. Mubarak's two sons Alaa and Gamal were acquitted of corruption, as were Al Adly's senior aides, who were blamed for the death of protesters during the Egyptian revolution, which started on January 25, 2011.

Following the verdict, Egyptian blogger Mahmoud Salem, or Sandmonkey, tweets:

@Sandmonkey: #Mubaraktrial ended in a sham verdict: He and his Minister of Interior received an easily turnable life in prison sentence, every1 else free

Adding:

@Sandmonkey: The same people who have killed and tortured egyptians are now free to go back to their jobs at the MOI. Imagine that #Mubaraktrial

A screen grab shared on Twitter by Sultan Al Qassemi of Mubarak arriving in court this morning

And Gigi Ibrahim reports:

@Gsquare86: Chaos breaks out inside court and chanting “people demand the independence of judiciary” chanting “Fraud!” #MubarakTrial

Adding:

@Gsquare86: I don’t get how head of MOI Aldy charged yet no policeman nor his men get charged with anything?!!!! #MubarakTrial

Journalist Bel Trew sums it up:

@Beltrew: Life time in jail for #Mubarak is not as bad as it seems. He has gardens,swimming pool &an airstrip. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/01/uk-egypt-trial-mubarak-idUKBRE85017O20120601 #MubarakTrial

Journalist Patrick Tombola notes:

@ptombola: #Mubarak‬ & Adly convicted for failing to prevent killings not for ordering them.Big distinction & not a comforting one. ‪#Egypt‬ ‪#Mubaraktrial

But Mina Zekri reminds us [ar]:

نذكر الجميع قبل الحكم أنه سيكون حكما ابتدائيا والعبرة بحكم محكمة النقض بعدما يطعن المتهمون على الحكم ‎‫#محاكمة_مبارك‬‏ ‎‪#mubaraktrial
@minazekri: I would like to remind you all that this verdict is an initial verdict and we should wait for the appeals court after the defendants appeal the decision

Asteris Masouras charts netizen's reactions on Twitter here. And Rayna St. collects other reactions on Storify here. Noon Arabia also shares reactions here.

For more reactions, check out the #Mubaraktrial hash tag on Twitter.

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.

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