Protests continue in Egypt over dismissal of Mubarak charges

Sporadic student demonstrations erupted yesterday against the dismissal of charges against former president Hosni Mubarak (86), who was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for failing to prevent the killing by security forces of 845 Egyptians. These took place during the 2011 Arab Spring demonstrations that ended Mr Mubarak’s 30-year reign.

Yesterday’s rallies, organised by the April 6th youth movement and the campaign to release detainees, took place at Cairo University and provincial universities.

Egypt’s prosecutor-general Hisham Barakat said he would appeal the verdict handed down early on Saturday. Former interior minister Habib el-Adli and senior aides were cleared of the same charge while Mr Mubarak, his sons, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, and businessman Hussein Salem were acquitted of corruption in a case involving the discounted sale of Egyptian natural gas to Israel. Mr Barakat has ordered a study into the legal reasons behind the verdict on the killing of protesters.

No evidence

However, Hisham Kassem, former editor of al-Masry al-Youm, said: “It was almost inevitable. Mubarak stayed in power for 15 days after the 25th of January [when the uprising began] and there was enough time to destroy the evidence [on who ordered the violent response]. The judge himself was left with almost no evidence.”

Mr Mubarak has served most of a three-year sentence in another corruption case and is living in a military hospital in the upmarket Cairo suburb of Maadi.

On Saturday, 3,000 protesters gathered at Abdel Moneim Riad Square adjacent to Tahrir Square, the cradle of the uprising. “It was an entirely peaceful gathering until the security forces came,” said Nabil a veteran of the 2011 uprising. Tear gas, water cannon and birdshot were used to disperse the gathering, which is prohibited by a law adopted a year ago requiring official authorisation for all demonstrations. “We regard this law as illegal and will not comply with it,” Nabil said. “Three people died, many were injured and detained.”

The authorities contend the protest was infiltrated by members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. “We were all revolutionaries,” Nabil said, adding that future demonstrations could be expected, although the commitment to action seems to have waned.

Analyst Youssef Zaki said the “verdict was expected” and brought an end to the revolution that was the heart and soul of the Arab Spring that engendered belief in people power, democracy and political reform across the Arab world.

A number of commentators argue that the verdict could lead to a lack of accountability in governance and give security agencies licence to use excessive force against dissidents. However, many Egyptians, exhausted by four years of political turmoil, oppose demonstrations that can disrupt daily life, cause property to be destroyed, and permit extremist elements to undermine security.

Many Egyptians have been particularly critical of the Muslim Brotherhood for continuing to agitate for the reinstatement of the ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. While cracking down on the Brotherhood, the government has also detained many secular activists in spite of the fact they supported the ousting of Mr Morsi and the election to the presidency of former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.