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Egyptians protest court decision on Mubarak in Cairo

29 November 2014 19:51 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Egyptian protesters have thronged in Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square to condemn a court’s decision to dismiss a murder charge against ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, over the killing of hundreds of demonstrators during the 2011 uprising, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The demonstrators gathered at an entrance to the square, the hub of the popular anti-Mubarak revolution, on Saturday, chanting, “The people demand the toppling of the regime.”

The military had closed off the square as it anticipated opposition marches in advance.

The court also acquitted Mubarak of a corruption charge. However, the toppled president will remain in prison as he is serving a three-year sentence at a military hospital for a separate graft case.

Seven of Mubarak’s commanders, including former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, were also acquitted in connection with the deaths of some of the roughly 800 demonstrators killed during the 2011 uprising.

Corruption charges against Mubarak’s sons, Alaa and Gamal, were also dropped.

The verdict shocked the relatives of those killed in the revolution, who had assembled outside the court venue, a police academy on Cairo’s outskirts.

“It’s an oppressive ruling. The blood of my son has been wasted,” said Mostafa Morsi, whose son was killed in front of a police station during the uprising.

Public attention has largely been diverted from Mubarak’s case by the trial of Mohamed Morsi, the president who was ousted by the army in July 2013, and is now on trial over the deaths of anti-government protesters.

Morsi has been also implicated in two other cases. He is facing trial on charges of espionage and orchestrating a prison break in 2011.